Young batter Shubman Gill seems to have been earmarked as India’s future captain. He will serve as the deputy to Suryakumar Yadav and Rohit Sharma in the T20I and ODI tour of Sri Lanka, starting on July 27.
The 24-year-old also led India’s second-string team to 4-1 victory in the five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe earlier this month.
Now, it is learnt that Gill is all set to become the new vice-captain of India’s Test team as well. He will assume the role from the red-ball series against Bangladesh at home in September.
According to a report published in RevSportz, sources in the BCCI have confirmed that Shubman Gill is likely to replace pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah as the new Test vice-captain when the selectors announce the squad for the two-match series.
The Test series between India and Bangladesh is slated to get underway on September 19 in Chennai. Kanpur’s Green Park Stadium will stage the second Test from September 27.
Bumrah has been India’s vice-captain in Tests for more than two years, and he also led the side in the rescheduled Test against England at Edgbaston in 2022.
If Gill takes over as India’s vice-captain for the Bangladesh series, then there are high chances that he will be Rohit’s deputy during the home series against New Zealand and the away series against Australia.
Shubman Gill’s stocks as a batter have also grown by leaps and bounds in the last 20 months. He was the leading run-getter in ODIs in 2023 and played a key role in India’s Test series victory over England at home earlier this year.
Addressing the media before the team’s departure to Sri Lanka earlier this week, chief selector Ajit Agarkar hailed Shubman as a three-format player.
"Shubman is a guy we feel is a three-format player, firstly. And he seems to show a lot of good qualities over the last year or so. That's why we wanted to have somebody who can also learn from a couple of senior guys who are there. Surya is there. Rohit is still around. We don't face the same challenge again -- suddenly try and look for a new captain in case there is an injury or loss of form. That's the idea again. He has shown some decent leadership qualities. So we want him to get some experience and build going forward. There are no guarantees in life, but at this point, that's how it looks," Agarkar told reporters.
