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Former Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik showered praise on the newly appointed vice-captain Shubman Gill ahead of the upcoming white-ball series against Sri Lanka. Karthik expressed confidence in Gill’s potential to excel as a future captain of the Indian cricket team, highlighting his strong batting prowess.
Despite not making it to the India squad for the T20 World Cup 2024, where the team clinched the title, Shubman Gill was entrusted with the captaincy of the young Indian side for the five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe. Under his leadership, India secured a convincing 4-1 victory.
For the Sri Lanka tour, selectors and head coach Gautam Gambhir chose Gill as captain for both white-ball formats. He was preferred over Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, and Ruturaj Gaikwad in the T20Is and also assumed the role of vice-captain in the ODI format, filling in for the rested Hardik Pandya.
Speaking on Cricbuzz’s “Hey CB with DK,” Dinesh Karthik said that Shubman Gill can handle pressure in international cricket. Karthik stated that Gill will excel as a captain in the future if he can keep working on his batting and improve a lot more as a captain over the years.
“He’s been around in international cricket for some time, and he knows how to handle pressure. So why not? He is a vice-captain, and I believe he has the potential; if he keeps working on his batting and the fact that he can improve a lot more as a captain over the years, he has the potential to do well as a skipper as well,” Karthik said.
The former cricketer-turned-commentator remarked that Shubman Gill has areas to enhance both on and off the field following a challenging season as captain of the Gujarat Titans (GT) during the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL).
“This year, he started for Gujarat (Titans), and he was not bad, but he knows that it’s a little bit of work to put in on and off the field, and he’ll be working towards that. The one thing about Shubman Gill is that he’s a really hardworking kid, and that is going to stand them in good stead for the future,” Karthik added.
Shubman Gill assumed the captaincy of the Gujarat Titans for the IPL 2024 season, but couldn’t steer the team into the playoffs. GT finished eighth out of ten teams in the points table, securing five wins from 14 matches. Gill himself performed credibly, amassing 426 runs in 12 games at an average of 38.73 and a strike rate of 147.40.
Looking ahead, the three-match T20I series between India and Sri Lanka is set to commence on July 27 in Pallekele. Additionally, reports suggest Gill is poised to be appointed vice-captain for India during the upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh next month. The BCCI is purportedly evaluating him as a potential captain across all three formats of the game.
