Shubman Gill is the future of Indian cricket! Let’s start by having not doubts about this fact. Starting off with an impressive showing in the U-19 World Cup in 2018, Gill emerged as the standout from that crop of talent. His success story would continue in 2023, as the young star started to draw comparisons with the great Virat Kohli and for good reason.
Gill turned himself into a run machine and ended with 2154 to his name across all 3 formats of the game. And all this happened during a record-breaking IPL season as he scored 890 runs with 3 hundreds to his name. The youngster would also reinvent himself in Test when he took up the No.3 spot and after some time, would find his feet during the series against England earlier in the year. So, certainly, everything points to the fact that Gill is the one who will carry India into the new era.
He was handed the captaincy in the IPL 2024 and also was the skipper of the Indian team when they toured Zimbabwe. Gill showed character during the tour in Zimbabwe as he ensured the team bounced back from the loss in the first T20I against Zimbabwe to win the series 4-1 in the end.
Now as the squad was announced for the Sri Lanka tour, one of the big surprises was to see Gill being named as the vice-captain for both the ODI and T20I sides, taking over from Hardik Pandya. While the credentials mentioned above show the young star in a good light, could BCCI have waited on this decision?. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why they could have held back this call.
Still learning the trade as skipper
Gill had said after the Zimbabwe series that captaincy does bring the best out of him. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen in the IPL this year as Gill struggled to find the Midas touch from 2023 and because of which, the team also struggled. GT would fail to make the playoffs for the first time and finished near the foot of the table.
Even as skipper for the Indian team, Gill’s choices were questioned. His call to have his Punjab teammate Abhishek bat at No.3 didn’t sit well with the fans, who called the young star as selfish. Despite finishing the series as the top run-getter, Gill’s inability to be destructive up top was something the fans didn’t enjoy. Which brings us to the next point.
Is Gill nailed on for T20Is?
When you put someone like Gill as the vice-captain, you kind of push yourself into a corner. The young star was in the reserves during the T20 World Cup as India opted for Yashasvi Jaiswal in the main squad. Now with the emergence of Abhishek, fans would want Jaiswal and the SRH star to be the openers for the team.
With the call to make Gill as your vice-captain, the team management will now have to pick him for all the T20I matches going forward and put him in as the opener. This can compromise the fast starts for the side, which they could have got with someone else opening alongside Jaiswal. While the next T20 World Cup is a couple of years away and Gill can change himself up, in the short-term, the decision doesn’t seem to be a good one.
Too little time to learn before Champions Trophy
At least till the end of February next year, India will only be playing a total of 6 ODI matches. This may not seem like the ideal way to prepare for the Champions Trophy, but it doesn’t give Gill a lot of time to learn the craft as vice-captain. The role of the deputy would be crucial in the grand scheme of things and Gill will have a huge role with the bat at the top.
So his time to give for picking up the captaincy experience may not be high, which is a bit of a blow. While he would have the experienced Rohit Sharma to lean on, the best choice at this stage would have been to stick with Hardik, who has got enough experience under his belt.
While we do say these points, Gautam Gambhir could have a different way to look at things. Maybe he expects Gill to be like a young Suryakumar Yadav in KKR, who he had elevated to his deputy role. Or maybe he is hoping Gill becomes the next Graeme Smith, who took over captaincy at a very young age and produced great results.
But Gill shouldn’t have been thrust so early into the role and should have been given ample time to improve his decision-making.