'Gill is ready to take over...': Star India cricketer reflects on ODI captaincy after England tour
India may have finished the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy with a draw, stretching their 15-year wait for a Test series win in England. Despite that the series offered more hope and positives than expected, with Shubman Gill standing out the most.
Several questions were raised when Gill was selected as Test captain for a crucial England tour over more seasoned candidates. Neither head coach Gautam Gambhir nor chief selector Ajit Agarkar's support could silence the doubts right away. However, the Oval thriller where India secured a dramatic six-run win to draw the series, put all those questions to rest.
Mohammad Kaif backs Gill, says he's ready for ODI capatincy
Following his impressive summer in England, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif backed Gill to take over India's captaincy as well, amid growing speculation about Rohit Sharma's future as a Test captain.
'He will get the ODI captaincy as well because we don't know how long Rohit Sharma will continue as captain. Gill is ready to take over. He scores in white-ball. He has performed well as captain here in Tests and led from the front. When you go with a young team, you have to do both things – score with the bat and do well as captain. A brilliant tour for him overall,' Kaif said on his Youtube channel
'Shubman Gill, as captain, created opportunities with both hands in this series. When he became captain, there were many questions as to why he was made captain, looking at his Test record. A young captain reached England under a lot of pressure with a young team. He answered with his bat and it came to a point where he was compared to breaking Sir Don Bradman's record. Such a strong comeback with the bat,' Kaif added
Rohit's childhood coach says he wants to win ODI World Cup
Rohit Sharma is active only in ODIs. After leading India to victory in the T20 World Cup in Barbados, he retired from the T20Is in June 2024. Later, he announced his unexpected retirement from Test cricket in May of this year, just weeks before the India squad for the tour of England was picked.
While speculations regarding Rohit's future in ODI cricket is gradually increasing, the BCCI has said that Rohit will continue to lead the side in the 50-over format.
Dinesh Lad, Rohit's childhood coach, stated earlier in May that the 37-year-old would like to win the ODI World Cup, which has eluded India since the team captained by MS Dhoni took home the trophy in 2011.
'His [Rohit's] aim is to win the 2027 ODI World Cup and then retire,' Lad told PTI. 'His target was the World Test Championship, but unfortunately we didn't qualify. Now, it's the 2027 World Cup… I also want him to win the 2027 World Cup and then retire.'
The 2027 Cricket World Cup is set to be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia during October and November. Rohit's next outing will be in the three-match ODI series against Australia, starting October 19 in Perth.
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