Being an all-format player is indeed a matter of pride for any cricketer. However, it also brings along a set of challenges, particularly if the player concerned is in the leadership group of his team.
Shubman Gill’s stupendous showing in the England Tests this year, in what was his first assignment as India captain, went a long way in his comeback to the T20I squad. Not just that, Gill made his T20I return as deputy to Suryakumar Yadav for the Asia Cup in September.
Gill will also be India’s vice-captain in the T20I series against Australia, beginning in Canberra on Wednesday. That kind of implies that he’s set to play this role at least till the end of next year’s T20 World Cup.
By virtue of being India’s Test and ODI captain, his responsibility has already doubled. And given his current role in the T20I squad, Gill, in other words, is loaded with additional weights.
The 26-year-old hasn’t complained about it, and the professional that he is, he will be ready to encounter the challenges in store. He can also look to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for inspiration, with the duo having led India across all formats before retiring from T20I and Test cricket.
That said, the scenario could still be a bit tricky.
Gill has been leading the Gujarat Titans since IPL 2024 and his numbers (average of 39.44 and strike rate of 138.71) in the competition aren’t at all bad. But the role he’s assigned to play in Team India’s leadership group can go on to be mentally taxing.
Numbers-wise, in the Asia Cup, Gill’s highest score was just 47. In the recent three-ODI series against Australia, which India lost 1-2, he tallied only 43 runs. However, Gill still has time at his disposal, while his overall quality as a batter is always there to bail him out.
“For some players, the additional responsibilities bring the best out of them. As for Shubman, I initially felt his situation could be a little stressful, but the way he fared in England, it underlined his maturity and growth as a cricketer,” former chief selector
MSK Prasad, during whose tenure Gill made his India debut (in an ODI against New Zealand in Hamilton in January 2019), explained.
“Giving Shubman the vice-captain’s duties in T20Is means a possibility of his emergence as India’s next T20I captain after the (2026) World Cup. Nonetheless, Shubman still has time. Besides, he has done a good job in the IPL too, which is sometimes even more competitive than international cricket,” MSK emphasised.
