16 July,2024 04:00 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Shubman Gill (Pic: AFP)
Former Indian spinner Amit Mishra on Tuesday minced no words while suggesting that he would not have selected Shubman Gill as India's T20I captain for the ZIM vs IND series, instead favouring Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Mishra, who has represented India in 22 Test matches, 36 ODIs, and 10 T20Is, admitted that the choice of Shubman Gill as captain was unexpected. Notably, Gill successfully led India to a 4-1 series victory in the recently concluded ZIM vs IND series.
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In a discussion on Shubhankar Mishra's YouTube podcast, he asserted, "Main Shubman ko captain nahi banaunga, kyunki maine usey IPL me dekha, he doesn't know ki captaincy kaise karna hai, uske paas captaincy ka idea hi nahi hai. (I would not have made him the captain. You saw the IPL this season, Gill doesn't know how to captain the side, he is clueless)".
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"Just because he is a part of the Indian team, he shouldn't be made the captain. Gill has done well in the IPL over the last few seasons, he did fine in the Indian team as well. The Indian team made him the captain as they want to give him leadership experience, which wasn't visible when he led Gujarat Titans in IPL," he added.
Mishra also proposed that Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, and Gaikwad should be considered for the captaincy of the India's T20I side. Except for Pant, both Gaikwad and Samson were part of the squad for the Zimbabwe T20I series.
"There's Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, Ruturaj Gaikwad who can lead India in T20Is. Right now, the BCCI is only looking to assess all options," Mishra said.
When questioned about whether Rahul Dravid's perceived 'favouritism' influenced Shubman Gill's appointment as captain, the former spinner responded, "Everyone has some liking. I am not a Shubman Gill hater, I also like him. But, I feel Ruturaj is a better option because he has scored runs in tougher situations, be it for Chennai Super Kings or during the Asian Games. He is a good option, should be kept with the team, the way Yashasvi Jaiswal was with the Indian side at the T20 World Cup...He should hire a good manager (for social media PR)," he further explained.