File photo of Shubman Gill© AFP
The decision to appoint Shubman Gill as the Indian cricket team’s vice-captain for Champions Trophy 2025 has sparked a major conversation among both fans as well as experts. While some believe that it was the right decision, others are of the opinion that Hardik Pandya could have been a better option. Former India spinner R Ashwin weighed in on the topic and praised the selectors for their ‘futuristic move’ before adding that the decision hinted at the selectors potentially considering Gill as a future captain.
“Just think about whom else we can appoint as vice-captain from the current squad. I will not say whether the decision to appoint Gill was right or wrong, but the point that was raised was correct that he was the vice-captain in the last series as well. I could be wrong, but I guess he’s done some vice-captaincy in Tests as well. I think this decision is a futuristic call as the management might be thinking about who could be their leader in the future,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Ashwin further said that Gill was the right choice because he could be considered a regular in the playing XI. In the case of other contenders like Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel, they are fighting for their spot.
“Axar Patel has been named as the vice-captain for the upcoming T20I series against England. There’s stiff competition between Axar and Jadeja about which one out of the two will play in the XI. If we look at Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul, the latter is an incumbency keeper.
“There could be a possibility that both Pant and Rahul play but they’ve given the vice-captaincy to the player whose place in the playing XI is confirmed. If Shubman goes on to become a captain in the future, then he can lean on Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah to guide him,” he added.
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