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All the talk about Shubman Gill donning the leadership role in white-ball cricket, after his initial success as India’s Test captain in England, is certainly encouraging news for the Punjab lad. It even draws comparisons to South Africa’s Graeme Smith, who was handed the captaincy at a very young age.
However, with Rohit Sharma still being the ODI captain — and potentially playing his last series against Australia if coach Gautam Gambhir has his way — and Suryakumar Yadav continuing as T20I skipper until next year’s World Cup, the question arises: where is the immediate need to appoint a new white-ball captain right now? What is the hurry to bring in Gill at this point of time? Are we jumping the gun?
There are plenty of options — Hardik Pandya and Shreyas Iyer among them — so wouldn’t rushing Gill into the job be a risky move? Considering his age, overburdening him at the very stage when he’s poised to enter his prime with consistent scores might not be the wisest call.
With lingering doubts over Pandya’s ability to remain fully fit throughout the year, a section of the BCCI wouldn’t mind seeing Iyer — not Gill — as the next ODI captain. On the basis of seniority and form, Iyer appears well-placed to carry Indian cricket into the next World Cup with his trademark swagger. He is mature, has consistently scored runs over the years, and possesses the credentials to match the captaincy portfolio.
The sad part of the story is that the selectors often end up pacifying market forces rather than taking bold, independent calls. And right now, that market is in favour of Gill — not Iyer. CricBlogger was the first to report that Gambhir wasn’t keen on including Iyer in the Champions Trophy squad either. So, the question remains: who will bell the cat and take a stand against this trend? At the moment, only God seems to know the answer!
