Follow UsIndian cricket is looking in the face of a stark transition period after the dual and sudden retirements of Test skipper Rohit Sharma and middle order doyen Virat Kohli, who both announced that they are done with Test cricket within a week of each other.
With the next big question being who’ll be the next Test captain, multiple options including Jasprit Bumrah are being floated around. However, the name that’s being taken with the most confidence is that of Shubman Gill.
Gill, who is currently captaining Gujarat Titans Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL), already has had some captaincy experience under his belt, and his demeanour there seems to have impressed Ishant Sharma, who has played Tests for a long time under Kohli. Ishant also mentioned how Gill is a bowlers captain.
“It’s his second year in leadership and he is learning a lot,” Ishant, who’s also part of the GT squad where he has seen Gill closely, said on JioHotstar.
“There are times when his plans don’t work but then come the time-outs where he rethinks. Ashu Bhai [Ashish Nehra], comes with his inputs and in fact, he puts the bowlers first.
“A good leader should be a bowler’s captain. He should give freedom to his bowlers. He must back his bowlers’ plans and if they don’t work, then they can switch to Plan B. And Gill does that. So, he is learning a lot and in the coming years, we would see him captaining way more than what he is doing right now.”
Apart from pacer Ishant, former Test skipper and the first ever batter to reach 10,000 Test runs, Sunil Gavaskar also advocated for Gill’s captaincy and praised his levels of involvement in the game.
“It would take a couple of years to get to the level of our super captains. All of them brought something unique to the table," Gavaskar said.
“When you look at Gill, Iyer, and Pant — the main contenders for Indian captaincy — you can see a mix of different qualities. Gill seems the most competitive. When there’s a close call, he’s quick to question the umpire. He’s very involved in the game.”
Former India cricketer Suresh Raina also came in with his opinions on Gill and felt that winning the IPL trophy would make it easier for Gill to make the transition to leadership at the international stage.
“Young players think differently these days. Gill is searching for that IPL trophy,” Raina said.
“If he goes on to lead in Tests after winning the IPL, he will not only flourish, but he will also get a lot of respect in the dressing room.
“There is no Virat or Rohit now, they used to look to the opposition in the eye and put them under pressure. That comes with energy, character and body language. Shubman has that.”