Clearly, the message is that Shubman Gill will soon be an all-format captain: Sunil Gavaskar

Former Indian cricketer and commentator, Sunil Gavaskar, wasn’t surprised to see the appointment of Shubman Gill as the new ODI captain, replacing Rohit Sharma, for the upcoming ODI series against Australia, starting on October 19, in Perth.

Speaking exclusively on Sports Today, Gavaskar asserted that with the ICC World Cup lined up in 2027 in South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, Gill deserves enough time to settle down with the squad before the mega event approaches. 

Furthermore, Gavaskar also stated that with Gill already being the vice-captain of the shortest format of the game, we can expect him to be a captain across formats in the near future. Notably, Suryakumar Yadav is currently leading the Indian T20I side.

"Not surprised because you've got to look forward to 2027, the next 50-over World Cup. At the moment, the T20I captaincy is in the hands of Suryakumar Yadav, who just won us the Asia Cup. Shubman was the vice-captain there. So, clearly the message is that he will soon be an all-format captain," Gavaskar told Sports Today.

Indian chief selector Ajit Agarkar, after announcing the ODI and T20I squads for the Australian tour, revealed that it’s practically impossible to have three different captains across formats. Gavaskar also echoed similar sentiments. 

"Whoever is going to lead, has got to be an absolute certainty. He has got to be an automatic pick in the XI. In that case, you can have him as captain. It is not easy to have three different captains. It is not easy for the other players in the team who might be playing all three formats. If a player is good enough to captain in one format, he should be the captain in all three formats," he added.

India’s ODI squad: Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal.

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