(AFP Photo)
Shubman Gill got his first taste of leading India during the recent tour of Zimbabwe, where he guided a youthful T20I squad to a convincing 4-1 series victory. Gill emerged as the top scorer of the tour, which saw five players making their T20I debuts.
In IPL 2024, Gill captained Gujarat Titans, who unfortunately ended their campaign in eighth place out of ten teams.
A versatile player across all formats for India, Gill is earmarked as a potential future captain. However, leg-spinner Amit Mishra holds reservations about Gill’s leadership abilities, suggesting that his talents might be better suited solely as a batsman.
“I will not make Shubman Gill captain,” Mishra, a former India spinner, said on Shubhankar Mishra’s YouTube Podcast. “I saw him in the IPL and he does not know how to do captaincy. He has no idea. He has also not captained ever before. Why was he made the captain, well ask the selectors– kyunki India mein hai to captain banado bas? Yeh nahi hona chahiye (He shouldn’t have been made the captain).”
GT appointed Shubman Gill as captain following the departure of Hardik Pandya, who moved to Mumbai Indians after two prosperous seasons that saw GT reach the finals.
Last IPL season, the 24-year-old Gill emerged as the top run-scorer as GT finished as runners-up.
“Yes, in IPL, he (Gill) has performed well in the last two years and has done decently well in T20I for India, so he merits a place as batter,” Mishra said.
When asked why the Indian selectors may have named Gill captain despite the presence of the likes of Rutuaj Gaikwad and Sanju Samson, Mishra said, “Giving him the captaincy, I think it was because the team management wanted to give him that experience. They are looking for options. If not Ruturaj Gaikwad (Asian Games) then who? So that is why Gill may be have been picked as the skipper.”
Mishra went as far as to suggest that Ruturaj Gaikwad, who leads Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, exhibits superior batting prowess compared to Gill.
“For me Ruturaj Gaikwad is a better batter than Shubman Gill. If someone is performing well, you need to give them chance. I am not a Shubman Gill hater or anything like that, I also like him a lot, but I think Ruturaj is a better player because he has scored runs in tough scenario,” the 41-year-old said.
“I felt Ruturaj should have been there as a backup player in T20 World Cup – for me, he is a complete player, he can perform in T20Is, ODIs, and Test cricket – his technique is such, his attitude is such, I see calmness in him as well,” he added.
