Shubman Gill has been named the captain of the Indian cricket team for the upcoming Test series against England, with Rishabh Pant as his vice-captain. With Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma stepping down, it’s going to be a tough job for Gill to lead the team during such an important series. Reports say that while Jasprit Bumrah was a strong candidate, the selectors chose Gill instead of him and others like KL Rahul and Pant. Former Indian player Manoj Tiwary thinks Gill was the second pick for the role and that the selectors mainly decided on him because they weren’t sure about Bumrah’s fitness. He pointed out that it doesn’t make sense to make someone captain if they aren’t fit to play.
Tiwary shared his thoughts on Cricbuzz, saying, He was the second-best option. But how can someone who doesn’t even fit in the playing XI be made captain? It seems like they looked for the next best choice, and that was Gill.
Former Indian star Virender Sehwag backed Tiwary’s view but mentioned that if not Bumrah, he would have chosen Pant as the second option for captaincy. He supported the selectors’ decision not to give Bumrah the captaincy due to concerns about his availability for all the Tests. Sehwag commented, For a series, Bumrah is okay. But if India has ten Tests in a year, can he play all those? That’s a big factor in choosing a captain. They felt it wouldn’t be fair to put that kind of pressure on Bumrah.”
Tiwary thinks Gill is a strong second choice, but Sehwag believes that Pant deserves that spot, putting Gill in third. Sehwag praised what Pant has done for Test cricket, saying he’s really drawn fans in. He mentioned that after Kohli, Pant is the player who has made people want to watch Test matches. He noted that, due to an accident and injury, Pant hasn’t had a big impact lately, but he’s now the vice-captain, with the idea that he could take on the captaincy in the future if he finds his form again. Sehwag also highlighted that not many bowlers get the captaincy, with Anil Kumble being a rare example from his era who was both committed to the format and a regular in the team.
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