From being the vice-captain of the Indian team, Shubman Gill has gone on to become only a squad player. The top-order batter doesn’t hold a spot in India’s T20I team and isn’t a certainty in Tests either. Even his place in India’s ODI team can be questioned. Over the past year or so, Gill’s stocks have fallen dramatically and the selectors seem to have moved on from him when it comes to the future leadership plans. As Rohit Sharma nears the end of his captaincy career, the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant are reportedly set to be groomed, alongside Jasprit Bumrah.
Bumrah led the Indian team in two matches during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He looks like the No. 1 candidate to take up the Test captaincy role, though hit injury record does worry the selection committee and the team management a little. Hence, Pant and Jaiswal have been backed for the vice-captain’s role.
As this transition in the Indian team begins to take shape, former cricketer Aakash Chopra highlighted how Gill has fallen way down the pecking order in the leadership plans.
“Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant – which of the two can become the captain? It’s a beautiful question because, as per sources, Rohit has said that he will manage the team for a few months, but after that, you (the BCCI) can find whoever you want, and since there could be an injury issue with Bumrah, it’s your wish,” Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.
“I had a solution that we should see after six months. If Jasprit Bumrah captains the entire England tour, appoint a vice-captain properly because you have to groom him. Let’s be very honest, when we won the T20 World Cup, it seemed like the grooming process was going very well,” he observed.
Gill was also made India’s vice-captain in white-ball formats last year, after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup 2024. But, the management has now shifted its focus on new candidates.
“Everything looked fine. Shubman Gill was being made the vice-captain. He was regularly being assigned that role and then suddenly Shubman Gill was dropped. So pressure was put on him as to what was happening as he is potentially not coming in the captaincy thoughts and is not coming in the T20 format at all,” Chopra asserted.
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