Dubai, May 17 — Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has backed young stars Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant as ideal contenders to take over India's Test captaincy, citing their leadership experience in the IPL and the advantage of age.
Shastri’s comments come after Rohit Sharma’s retirement from Test cricket. The selectors now have the critical task of appointing a new leader ahead of India’s five-match series against England, starting June 20 in Leeds.
Jasprit Bumrah Not Ideal Due to Fitness Concerns
Shastri acknowledged that Jasprit Bumrah would have been a natural choice for the role following India's memorable Test series win in Australia. However, he emphasized that the pacer’s fitness needs to be prioritized."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," Shastri said during the latest episode of the ICC Review, in conversation with Bumrah’s wife, Sanjana Ganesan.
Bumrah, 31, recently returned to action after missing nearly three months due to a back injury. He has since taken 13 wickets in eight matches for Mumbai Indians in the IPL. Shastri cautioned that Bumrah, still recovering, should not be burdened with leadership duties.
"He's coming back now after a serious injury. The last thing you want is some pressure on his mind being captain as well," he said.
Shastri Sees Promise in Gill and Pant
Shastri believes India should groom a young leader with long-term potential. He highlighted Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant as the frontrunners due to their age and captaincy experience with their respective IPL franchises — Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants."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," said Shastri. "There's Rishabh as well. I think these two are the obvious ones I'm looking at."
He lauded Gill for his composed temperament, calling it a key trait for leading the national side. "The little I've seen of Shubman looks very interesting. Composed, calm, he has all the qualities," he added.
On Gill’s Overseas Performance
Addressing concerns about Gill’s overseas form, Shastri dismissed the criticism, expressing confidence in the young batter's abilities."That topic always comes, not scored runs overseas. Let him play, let him get a run overseas, then he'll score runs. He's a class player. He has a decade of cricket ahead of him for the country," said Shastri.
Shastri concluded by reaffirming that Gill will eventually find success on foreign soil and become a consistent performer for India in the years to come.
