According to former middle-order batsman Mohammad Kaif, Shubman Gill, the current captain of India in both ODI and Test cricket, will have conflicting emotions over taking Rohit Sharma’s place as team captain. Despite taking the team to the 2025 Champions Trophy in his final 50-over assignment, Kaif claimed that Rohit was relieved of his captaincy and that Gill was appointed as his replacement.
Having to lead someone like Rohit, a veteran and his opening partner, will negatively impact Gill’s mindset, Kaif claims. In fact, the young player may feel bad about assuming leadership responsibilities from the second-most successful captain of India in One-Day Internationals.
Since Rohit Sharma is a seasoned leader and plays under Gill, it takes time for any new captain to get up to speed. As a captain, Rohit Sharma has done nothing wrong, and Gill is aware of this. The captaincy was taken away from him. In his hotel room, Gill must be thinking that Rohit bhai has done nothing wrong when he goes to sleep. ‘That people are supporting me, but consider Rohit bhai, who did so brilliantly and won trophies, yet even after that, he was removed and I was chosen captain,’ Kaif said in a video posted to his YouTube account. “I know he’s feeling guilty inside.”
Given everything, including exhaustion, travel, playing a lot of games in a row, and having to captain Rohit and Kohli, it will take time.
Gill is going through a transitional period as ODI captain. He gets anxious every time he leads Rohit and Kohli. Thus, we lost a bilateral ODI series at a time when the runs are not coming from the bat, and I can’t even recall the last time we lost a bilateral series. Thus, everything that has occurred under his leadership had to occur, Kaif stated.
Both as a hitter and as captain in his first ODI assignment, Gill has been in dismal form. The Mitchell Marsh-led team defeated the Men in Blue in both games, with him scoring just 10 runs in the Perth ODI and nine runs in Adelaide. As captain, Gill now has the unwelcome record of losing his first ODI, Test, and T20I games.
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