Will Shubman Gill Be A Good ODI Captain? Australia's World Cup Winner Has His Say

Shubman Gill has started his stint as India's Test captain quite well. He won two of the five Tests in England and also led India to a comfortable win over the West Indies in his first-ever match as captain on home soil. Even in T20s, he has proved his worth in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the Gujarat Titans (GT). But will he be a success in ODIs? 

Former Australia captain and T20 World Cup-winning skipper Aaron Finch believes Gill will be a success leading India in the 50-over format as well. “Shubman has already shown what a good leader he is in T20 cricket and Test cricket, so I’m sure this will be no different,” Finch told ICC.

“He’s a brilliant player, particularly in the white-ball formats and the way that he captained against England in the Test series is just a huge tick in his box to take the next step and take over the Indian leadership right the way through [all three formats]."

Gill replaced Rohit Sharma as the captain in ODIs, starting with the Australia series in less than two weeks. The 26-year-old is also the vice-captain in T20Is, an indication that he will take over the role once Suryakumar Yadav steps aside.

Speaking of the upcoming ODI series, Finch believes it will be a close series, but backs Australia to clinch it. “It will be a great series,” Finch said. 

“It always is against India, and I think having Virat back in there brings out the best in him against Australia. It’s always a great battle when you look at it on paper, as it’s very evenly matched, but I’d say Australia [win the series] 2-1.

“Not confidently though as India are a great side and it will just be a great series to watch.”

Along with Rohit, the series, which will get underway from October 19 onwards, also marks the return of Virat Kohli. They will be seen in action for the first time since helping India lift the ICC Champions Trophy in March.