Should Shubman Gill lead India in all three formats? Irfan Pathan opens up

Former Indian all-rounder and commentator Irfan Pathan has stated that there is a lot of confusion among the Indian cricketing fraternity on who actually is the leader in the Indian dressing room.

Notably, Shubman Gill was elevated as the new Indian Test captain after the retirement of former skipper Rohit Sharma from the longest format of the game ahead of the England tour. Speaking on RevSportz, Irfan has shared his two cents on the current situation.

Irfan stated that it would be wise to have Shubman Gill as the captain across three formats, as it makes the head coach’s job easier. Moreover, he added that the BCCI is trying to have some stability in terms of leadership as the Indian team is currently in transition.

“If you look around, there must be a certain type of continuity in leadership. Nowhere would you see that three captains are there in three different formats. Take an example, say you’re playing against South Africa in all three formats. Now imagine the people sitting at the back, say Rahul Dravid or Ravi Shastri and, now, Gautam Gambhir. How easy or difficult will it be to work with three different captains? So, I understand what Indian cricket is trying to do now. They are trying to have some stability in terms of leadership because it’s a transition. And stability in terms of batting as well, so it is very important for Shubman to be there in the leadership. I totally agree with that,” Irfan told RevSportz.

Moreover, the former all-rounder also asserted that Shubman Gill will aim to be better as the captain in the days to come. However, he heaped praise on Gill for the way he started as a captain in the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

“I think the message should go out loud and clear to every player – more than the media or the fans – that who the engine of this train is, so that the train reaches a single destination, no matter the speed. Shubman Gill’s captaincy will get better with time, he’ll learn the art of leadership more, but what he already has done is great,” he added.

“The selection committee had a discussion with him, that as soon as he gets free from Test cricket, you will get yourself back. There are a lot of questions in the media, I understand, but Indian cricket goes according to a plan and that’s how it has always been. Selection board, management has the responsibility and I think that going in one direction is important. And this is what it seems like Indian cricket is doing with Shubman Gill right now,” Pathan added.

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