Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has quashed talks over Shubman Gill‘s poor abroad report in Tests, amid experiences that he’s the front-runner to be the nest India captain. The former Indian cricket workforce coach believes Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant form up as robust candidates for taking the Test workforce captaincy in close to future, citing their youth and the potential for lengthy careers as key causes. “You people will talk he’s not scored runs overseas. You know, that topic always comes, not scored runs overseas. Sometimes I tell them, go and see your own record, how much have you done overseas?” Shastri mentioned on The ICC assessment Show.
“Overseas, abroad, let him play, let him get a run abroad, then he’ll rating runs. He’s a category participant. He has a decade of cricket forward of him for the nation. And I’m certain he’ll get cracking in one of many excursions, he’ll make up for all these runs he isn’t acquired on earlier.”
Shastri added that he would not put much leadership pressure on fast-bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, citing his importance in the Indian bowling department. India will be led by a new captain on their five-match tour of England, starting on June 20 at Headingley, after Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from Tests earlier this month.
“You groom somebody and I would say Shubman’s looked very good. Give him the opportunity. He’s 25, 26 years of age, even give him time. There’s Rishabh as well. I think these two are the obvious ones I’m looking at because of their age and they have a decade ahead of them. So, let them learn,” said Shastri.
Both Pant and Gill are captaining their respective franchises – Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans – in IPL 2025. Pant captained India in 2022 T20I series at home against South Africa, which ended in a 2-2 draw. Gill, the top-ranked ODI batter, was the captain when the side toured Zimbabwe last year for a five-match series in the shortest format and won 4-1.
“They’ve got experience as captains, now, captaining their franchise and that makes a difference. The little I’ve seen of Shubman looks very interesting. Composed, calm, he has all the qualities,” added Shastri.
Bumrah has captained India in three Tests, and was at the helm when they won the Perth Test in last year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia. But he suffered a back injury during the final Test of the Australia tour at the Sydney Cricket Ground and didn’t bowl at all in the second innings.
That back injury also resulted in Bumrah missing out on the 2025 victorious Champions Trophy campaign. Though he’s back in IPL 2025, Bumrah’s fitness issues means he is not a certainty yet to play all five Tests on the tour of England.
“See for me, Jasprit would have been the obvious choice after Australia. But I don’t want Jasprit to be made captain and then you lose him as a bowler. I think he (Bumrah) has to take his body one game at a time. He’s coming back now after a serious injury.”
“He’ll have performed IPL cricket, which is four-over cricket. Now will come the check of bowling 10 overs, 15 overs. And the very last thing you need is a few strain on his thoughts being captain as properly,” concluded Shastri.
With IANS inputs
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