“Shubman Gill’s rise irked ‘influential people running Indian cricket’”: Reports
Team India batter Shubman Gill is tipped for huge things, including the Test captaincy, following the sudden retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from the format. However, the 25-year-old's meteoric rise has not gone down well with everyone in the Indian cricketing circuit, with reports stating that he was not a 'unanimous' choice for the leadership role.
Shubman Gill's shaky overseas record, and the fact that he has not looked entirely comfortable in the longest format of the game, have led to serious doubt regarding his credibility.
The right-handed batter endured a woeful 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar series, scoring only 93 runs in five innings at an average of 18.60. He was even dropped for the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), with Rohit Sharma moving back to the top of the order while KL Rahul occupied the No.3 spot.
Given that Jasprit Bumrah has led India in red-ball cricket on occasions where Rohit Sharma was unavailable, the majority felt that the full-time captaincy would naturally pass down to him. However, concerns surrounding the pacer's workload management have driven a desire for a much more stable figure.
Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir was recently in Mumbai, reportedly for a meeting to discuss the leadership transition. Although talks of Bumrah being back in consideration have surfaced, it is unlikely that they will budge from their initial stance of having Gill at the helm. The youngster apparently even had a meeting with the head coach during IPL 2025's suspension to discuss plans for the England tour.
"There were rumours that influential people running Indian cricket aren't exactly happy with Gill's sudden elevation but it would be completely foolhardy to believe that those powerful men weren't taken into confidence before the Punjab batter was zeroed in as the next Test leader," a report from PTI read (via Hindustan Times).
Team India will depart for England after the culmination of IPL 2025. The five-match Test series begins in Headingley, Leeds, on June 20.
Shubman Gill's leadership record largely limited to the shortest format so far
Shubman Gill's rise in the leadership scheme of things arguably began with him being named as the skipper for the T20I series against Zimbabwe after not being named in the 2024 T20 World Cup squad. The batter was then named as the vice-captain of the white-ball sides for the subsequent Sri Lanka tour, the home series against England, as well as the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Gill has led the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the IPL since the 2024 season. The franchise are currently table toppers ahead of the business end of the 2025 campaign.