India’s new ODI captain, Shubman Gill, continues to get backlash from experts and fans on social media following his disastrous performance in the Australian tour.
The 26-year-old, who took over the captaincy in test cricket after Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from the longest format, has now been pressurized with an extra burden.
Sacking Rohit Sharma from the ODI captaincy was perhaps one of the biggest blunders the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has ever committed.
Despite a flop performance with the bat, several former Indian cricketers defended Gill, saying that he became mentally exhausted due to the huge pressure on him at a very young age.
‘Captaincy Affected His Batting’: Mohammad Kaif
Indian former star all-rounder Mohammad Kaif believes that appointing Shubhman Gill to the leadership role across all formats has made him emotionally tired:
“Certainly! He played so many matches in recent times. In addition to opening the innings as a batter, he had to lead the team in multiple formats.
Also, the IPL captaincy should be considered. With the player auction approaching soon, the Gujarat Titans will have planning discussions, including decisions about team strategy.
A lot is going on at once. Now it seems that his batting skills have been affected a bit. It is understood that he is psychologically exhausted,” Kaif said while speaking on his YouTube channel.
‘Adding Pressure on Himself’: Kris Srikkanth
The 1983 World Cup winner Krishnamachari Srikkanth too supported Shubman Gill, saying that the right-handed batter has pressurized himself due to youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal waiting for a chance:
“Yeah! Seeing his performance after England, he pressured himself too much. He should not make that mistake and just play his natural game.
In reality, he played well today, but finally got trapped by Josh Hazlewood’s stunning delivery.
Apart from Gill getting himself dismissed, the wicket-taking delivery ended his stay at the crease.
But he has been under high pressure. Just look at his body language. It is just because he replaced Rohit Sharma as the ODI captain, which is not at all easy when opening the innings alongside him.
On the other hand, questions continue to rise on why Yashasvi Jaiswal was benched. So, the entire pressure now falls on Gill to live upto the expectations. But, I am sure that he will be able to overcome it because he is one among those talented Indian players of the modern era,” Srikkanth said.
A Contrast To Gill’s Maiden ODI Captaincy Stint
After a sensational 2-0 victory in the test series against the West Indies, Shubman Gill replaced Rohit Sharma as the new ODI captain. In contrast to the expectations, he had a horrible run with the bat, having scored just 43 runs in 3 innings.
Also, Team India lost the ODI series to Australia by 2-1 under Gill’s captaincy. However, Rohit’s 121-run knock and Virat Kohli’s gritty fifty-plus score (74 runs) helped India escape from the trap of a whitewashing defeat to the Aussies.
Did Gill’s Leadership Compromise Quality Over Quantity?
The Indian cricket team, captained by Shubman Gill, had several part-time options available. However, all-rounders like Nitish Reddy and Washington Sundar struggled to make a greater impact on this surface (in terms of batting and bowling). Moreover, they are neither full-time batters nor bowlers.
Also, specialist bowlers like Harshit Rana would be disappointed with not allowing them to take responsibility.
It was indeed a difficult test for captaincy in which Shubman Gill failed. He benched a genuine wicket-taker like Kuldeep Yadav, who could have delivered match-winning performances.
For instance, the Australian orthodox spinner Matthew Kuhnemann bagged two wickets. But India’s reliable spinner like Kuldeep, was excluded from the playing XI in the series opener.
According to Mohammad Kaif, Team India preferred to have quantity (referring to all-rounders) rather than quality (referring to full-time specialist bowlers).
Also Read: Rohit Sharma’s Emotional Farewell Message After ODI Series vs Australia 2025!
Kaif’s Support for Gill After India’s Loss in the Australian ODI Series
Mohammad Kaif believes that Shubman Gill is undergoing the toughest phase of his career as ODI captain and points out his nervousness during the transition period:
“Yeah! Any new captain, like Gill, would feel that Rohit Sharma, as a proven captain, hasn’t done anything wrong. After losing the series, Gill must be feeling guilty while going to sleep in his hotel room.
He would have the regret that even though people are backing me during such tough times, think about Rohit, who won ICC trophies. Still, he was sacked, and I was named as skipper.
This is one such tricky transition phase Gill is undergoing as ODI captain. He would certainly feel nervous when Rohit and Kohli are playing under his captaincy.
So, this is the most difficult moment when runs are not scored from the bat and facing a defeat in the bilateral ODI series in Australia.
I don’t remember when we previously lost a bilateral series. All of a sudden, such heartbreaking dramas unfolded in his captaincy, which shouldn’t have happened,” Kaif explained after India’s loss in the 2nd ODI at Adelaide Oval.
Conclusion
Shubman Gill will now have a tougher assignment against South Africa, where he needs to find his peak form not only in the 2-match test series, but also in the 3-match ODI series as well.
Meanwhile, the 26-year-old is expected to get some rest as he will play the forthcoming 5-match T20I series in Australia under Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy.
So, the 20-over contest against the Aussies scheduled between October 29 (Wednesday) and November 08 (Saturday) might help Gill relieve the burden from the leadership responsibilities and regain his lost momentum before the South African series.
