I believed Rishabh Pant was more worthy compared to Shubman Gill as captain: Mohammad Kaif

Former Indian cricketer and analyst Mohammad Kaif has opened up on chief selector Ajit Agarkar appointing Shubman Gill as the new Test captain for the England tour, scheduled to start on June 20 at Headingley, Leeds.

Kaif felt Agarkar and his selection team took the feedback of Shubman Gill from people in the dressing room before making him the captain of the Indian Test team. However, Kaif felt Rishabh Pant to be a more worthy candidate as captain ahead of Gill.

"Chief selector Ajit Agarkar had given a statement that they talk a lot behind the scenes and take feedback. Gill captained in the IPL as well and Gujarat played very well in the league phase. His experience in captaincy has increased from there. Selectors have also shown faith. He has scored runs as well as captain in the IPL. They got feedback that he is calm. He does not succumb to pressure. He is a leader. He has the tactical sense as a captain," Kaif explained on his YouTube channel.

"They took this feedback from people in the dressing room and made him captain. His record as a batter in Tests is not great. He has to prove himself in Tests and the pressure will be there. But as there is no Rohit Sharma, no Virat Kohli, Bumrah is injury prone and he may not play all Tests," he added.

"I believed that Rishabh Pant was more worthy compared to Shubman Gill. He should have been the captain. No one in the current squad has played as many match-winning knocks as Pant. He captains in the IPL as well. However, as Gill was doing well in the IPL, the feedback was to invest in him as captain. They have played a gamble on him that he can win us the series. It is an investment for the future, that is why Gill has been made captain," he said.

Moreover, Kaif also talked about finding a player who can replace Virat Kohli at No.4 in the Indian batting line-up. He reckoned that Kohli is a big match player and finding a replacement for him will take time. 

"You will not find a player like Virat Kohli right now. The replacement cannot happen now. It will take time. He is a big batter who has a great record and has played many years for India and captained as well. His replacement will not be found right away and he is being missed too," he observed.

There will be emotions flowing when the five-match series starts as he is not seen on the field. Kaif feels Team India will miss the way Kohli brings energy to the field and the way he scores runs.

"When the Test series will happen and you will not see him, the emotion will be there. The energy that he brings to the ground, the way he scores runs, he has a different style of playing and that is why you will miss him and look around for him. However I feel that we should get used to seeing the Indian team playing and winning without Virat Kohli. Shubman Gill is the captain and we wish that he does well," he concluded.

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