(July 27), Shubman Gill, who was named India’s vice-captain in white-ball cricket, is probably going to be named Rohit Sharma’s deputy in Test cricket.
Shubman Gill, who made his debut on the international scene in 2019, was not included in the plethora of names that surfaced as possible successors for Rohit Sharma, who took over as India’s captain across all formats two years ago. However, Gill was formally named the BCCI’s vice-captain for white-ball cricket in the middle of 2024, when Rohit announced his retirement from T20Is and the ODI announcement was imminent. This put Gill in the lead to replace the veteran Indian player. Furthermore, he could assume the role in Test cricket if the reports are accurate.
In the past three years, India has fielded three candidates for the position of Test vice- captain, with Jasprit Bumrah emerging as the front-runner. In addition to captaining India in the postponed Test match against England in 2022, he served as Rohit’s deputy in the two most recent Test series, which took place earlier this year against South Africa and England.
The other two candidates were Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul. Pant was Bumrah’s deputy in the England match in 2022, while Rahul also led India in an away Test series against South Africa in 2022.
But when the selectors announce the team for the two-match series against Bangladesh at home, Gill is expected to take Bumrah’s place as the new vice-captain of the Indian team, sources in the BCCI have confirmed, according to a report in RevSportz. The first Test match takes place on September 19 at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium, while the second and final match takes place on September 27 at Nagpur’s Green Park.
This suggests that Gill will probably be Rohit’s deputy for the crucial Border-Gavaskar series in Australia in December as well as the home Test series against New Zealand in October.
The BCCI chief selector revealed to the media earlier this week, prior to the Indian team’s departure for the white-ball series in Sri Lanka, that the management’s need for an all-around player was the primary factor in Gill’s promotion to vice captain in white-ball cricket.
“It was a little difficult when Hardik got hurt this time around because of the T20 World Cup. Rohit wasn’t playing at the time. We were fortunate that Rohit was available to take the lead while he was around. We don’t want that circumstance to recur. Shubman, a three-format player who has demonstrated quality over the past year or so, is the guy we feel again. And the dressing room has informed us,” Agarkar remarked.
“You try to have someone who can pick up knowledge from a few of the more experienced guys there. In this case, Surya or Rohit, who is still with us, will ensure that we do not encounter the same difficulties when you are suddenly trying to find a captain in the event of an injury or drop in form. He’s demonstrated some passable leadership abilities. Our goal is to provide him with the experience he can share. Though at this point that’s the thought, there are no guarantees in life.“
