India captain Shubman Gill led a young Men in Blue side to a 4-1 T20I series win over Zimbabwe. Image: X / @Zimcricketv
Former India spinner Pragyan Ojha hailed Shubman Gill’s “brilliant” leadership during the Zimbabwe tour and believes the top-order batter is a “future leader” after being named vice-captain in the T20I as well as ODI squads for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka.
Gill led a
second-string Indian team to a 4-1 series victory
over a Zimbabwean side captained by senior all-rounder Sikandar Raza earlier this month, with the Men in Blue bouncing back in style after suffering a 13-run loss in the tour opener.
Ind vs SL |
Gill hails coach Gambhir for clarity of thought, aims to excel across formats
Rohit Sharma continues to lead in Tests and ODIs after retiring from the shortest format with Suryakumar Yadav succeeding him in the shortest format ahead of Hardik Pandya.
The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee’s decision to name Gill as both Rohit and Surya’s deputy in the upcoming tour, however, suggests they see him as a leader across formats in the years to come, once Rohit and Surya decide to hang up their boots.
“I think he was brilliant. If you see after losing the first game against Zimbabwe, the way the team made a comeback, it really speaks volumes about what kind of thinking brain that Shubman Gill has and the way he handled things looked very nice. He was very calm, composed and looked matured. And maybe that will also help him grow as a player even further,” former left-arm spinner Ojha said replying to a query from Firstpost in a virtual interaction ahead of the first of three T20Is against Sri Lanka.
“Saying that, yeah, I think it’s quite clear that the selectors, the coach and the think tank, they’re clearly seeing him, Shubman Gill, as a future leader and it is up to him now how consistently he performs because as far as the confidence that he needs, it has been shown by the selectors and the coach. Now it is up to him how will he grab the opportunities and consistently perform so that he reaches where the entire country expects him to be,” Ojha added.
The Sri Lanka tour is set to begin a new era in Indian cricket as it will be former opener Gautam Gambhir’s first assignment since he succeeded Rahul Dravid as the head coach. Gambhir has had successful stints as a mentor in the Indian Premier League, helping Lucknow Super Giants reach back-to-back playoffs and helping his old franchise Kolkata Knight Riders win their third title this year.
Gambhir, however, enters uncharted territory as the head coach of a team, and the pressure of managing the Men in Blue will be like no other, especially because of their massive fan following.
Ojha, who shared the Indian dressing room with Gambhir, felt the biggest challenge for Gambhir will be delivering another World Cup triumph after Dravid signed off by helping the Rohit-led Indian team win the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean last month.
“I think the expectation of winning the World Cup. Because if you see, I’ve been talking about this again and again, after 2011 World Cup, everybody wanted Gary to continue and the way team delivered, they won the World Cup. I think similarly, if you see after Rahul bhai, everybody will have this expectation that Gautam Gambhir, senior members of the team, they win the Champions Trophy, maybe the T20 World Cup. So I think that will be the biggest challenge for him.
“Managing the players, taking up the new role, I don’t think that will be too much of a worry for him. But that expectation of winning the World Cup, because we’ve already recently won a World Cup in one format. I think other two formats, there will be a lot of expectation, especially winning the Test Championship and the 2027 World Cup,” Ojha, who represented Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians in the IPL added.
As for the reason behind the Indian selectors and team management preferring Surya over Pandya as T20I captain despite the latter having been Rohit’s deputy in the T20 World Cup, Ojha felt SKY’s “street-smart” skills as well as his camaraderie with Gambhir as well as Pandya’s history with injuries are what led to the decision.
“I don’t think Hardik has done anything wrong. I think it is a very strategic decision keeping Hardik Pandya’s workload in mind and the most important thing is in recent past, fitness has been one of the most challenging, it has been very challenging for him,” Ojha said.
“See, when you talk about Surya, he’s a street smart guy and in T20 format, you need a street smart guy to take up the job because now things have been changing, especially with T20 format.
“I would say in T20 format, he’s one of the good brains and especially the camaraderie that he has with Gautam Gambhir, it will only help him grow as a leader,” added the former spinner.
India’s tour of Sri Lanka gets underway on 27 July, with the second and third T20Is taking place on 28 and 30 July respectively. The ODI series, which will feature Rohit as well as Virat Kohli, begins on 2 August, with the second and third matches taking place on 4 and 7 July respectively.
Watch the live coverage of India Tour of Sri Lanka, 7 PM onwards starting on 27th July 2024 LIVE on Sony Sports Ten 5 & Sony Sports Ten 1 in English, Sony Sports Ten 3 in Hindi and Sony Sports Ten 4 channels in Tamil & Telugu.
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