Selectors and Gautam Gambhir want Shubman Gill as India’s next T20 captain: Reports

Suryakumar Yadav is set to be 35 in under a month, and India selectors have begun discussions about the future. The selectors have an eye on rearing the next leader in T20 cricket. Test captain Shubman Gill was named vice-captain for the Asia Cup in the UAE, which starts September 9. 

This was evidently the focus of the meeting, and virtual attendance was had by head coach Gautam Gambhir. The committee, comprising Ajit Agarka,r also agreed unanimously that given Gill's age (he will be 26 next month) and ability to eventually succeed Surya, Gill was a good option as a long-term vice-captain.

Including Gill in the T20 squad for the first time this year also suggests that he will be a member of the playing XI, returning to T20 cricket after a record-setting test series in England (heavy runs scored) to boot, but showcasing leadership qualities during that tour, which caught the eye of the management.

Grooming the next captain

Agarkar clarified that Gill had been in contention for the T20 vice-captaincy all along. "He was the vice captain when we went to Sri Lanka last year. After that, he was occupied with Test cricket," Surya added. Gill had missed India's T20 assignments against South Africa and England due to injury and mental load. Selectors stated that if he had been available, he would have been in the leadership group.

The performances in England made Gill's juxtaposition impossible. The way he coped with pressure, leading from the front, was enough for decision-makers to see a glimmer of hope in Gill being the face of Indian batting in an era after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. “We see leadership qualities in him, and his form in England exceeded expectations. That’s a great sign when there’s so much responsibility on a young captain,” Agarkar said.

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Axar overlooked, Jaiswal misses out.

Interestingly, Gill was not the first candidate in early discussions. Some advocated for Axar Patel to keep the vice-captaincy. However, there was a view to invest in a younger player who could potentially provide Indian cricket with at least five years of service.

We have worked out above, the price of that decision is Yashasvi Jaiswal. He played well on the England tour and had an excellent start to his international career, but the left-hander was jettisoned to allow Gill to return to his position at the top. This puts the management in a position to have to re-evaluate the opening combination after the promising series of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma.

India's Asia Cup squad

Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Jitesh Sharma, Shivam Dube, Arshdeep Singh, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav.

Standbys: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal.