"No Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma": Sourav Ganguly On Why Shubman Gill "Should Be Captain Of Everything"

Shubman Gill's elevation in the Indian T20I team as vice-captain received mixed reactions. The signal was clear: the BCCI was considering Gill as the next format captain. Gill's inclusion, however, meant the T20 team combination had to be altered. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly was asked whether the decision to groom Gill as the future T20I captain was right. His reply was blunt. "The other day I was sitting at Eden Gardens, and somebody came and told me, 'Do you think Shubman Gill should be captain of T20I?' I said, 'He should be captain of everything because he's so good.' And I asked him-three months ago, that fellow was in England, and he looked like gold: batting, captaincy, got a young team to fight, no Kohli, no Rohit Sharma. And in three months' time, you're asking questions. That's the mindset of people. And it happens to someone who makes decisions all the time... you have to be patient, you have to allow somebody to become better," Ganguly said on The Captain's Calm podcast.

Gill has been cleared by the Sports Science team at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence to play the opening T20I against South Africa after successfully completing his rehabilitation from a neck injury sustained during the Kolkata Test.

Gill was selected in the squad subject to fitness and had to undergo all rehabilitation and skill-training protocols required for Return To Play (RTP).

"Shubman Gill has successfully completed his rehabilitation at CoE and has met the requisite criteria to be declared fit for all formats of the game," a communication from the CoE was sent to the team management's Sports Science and Medicine (SSM) team, comprising physio Kamlesh Jain, strength and conditioning coach Adrian Le Roux, and sports doctor Dr Charles.

Gill had suffered a whiplash on the second day of the Kolkata Test and had to be hospitalised for a couple of days and administered an injection.

He missed the ongoing ODI series, but all doubts over his availability for the T20 leg were dispelled as he completed his rehabilitation and also performed his skills training-batting and fielding-in match simulations at CoE.

On Saturday, all those who only play T20Is will be linking up in Cuttack to start their first session from Sunday.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team South Africa Cricket Team India vs South Africa 2025, India Virat Kohli Rohit Sharma Shubman Gill Sourav Ganguly Cricket