The squad selection of the Indian side for the upcoming edition of the Champions Trophy in 2025, scheduled to begin on February 19, has happened on expected terms. But the speculation sparked around the appointment of Shubman Gill as the vice-captain of the side, which will start their campaign on February 20 against Bangladesh at the Dubai International Stadium.
Shubman Gill has found the ODI format the best so far in his six-year career with 2328 runs in 47 innings at an average of 58.20 and a strike rate of 101.74 with the help of six centuries and 13 half-centuries at the best score of 208 runs against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The blue brigade has been in transition, and if somehow the regular ODI captain, Rohit Sharma, gets injured or finds it hard, then the national side would need someone to take the team forward, and the selectors seem to have found a captain in mind, at least for the white-ball formats.
Shubman Gill was the vice-captain of the last ODI squad in Sri Lanka. Those were the last three of the six ODIs that India has played since the end of the 2023 ODI World Cup at home. The performance of the side was below average, as none of the batters, apart from Rohit, could stand up before the spin web of the Island side.
“A lot of dressing room feedback”- Ajit Agarkar on Shubman Gill’s appointment as vice-captain
However, the decision to continue with the Punjab-born, ahead of the senior players in the Champions Trophy squad, can be seen as a stamp of approval for him to be the future leader of the side.
The chairman of the selection committee, Ajit Agarkar, has shed light on their decision to appoint the youngster, in the position, shouldering so much responsibility.
“Shubman Gill has been the vice-captain in Sri Lanka as well. You always want to be on the lookout for leaders. I won’t look into it much, but a lot of the feedback for these decisions comes from the dressing room.” Agarkar explained.
The last few years have been phenomenal for the right-handed batter in the respective format. In 2023, the captain of the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL) smashed 1584 runs in 29 innings at an ODI average of 63.36 with a strike rate of 105.46, thanks to five centuries and nine fifties with the best score of 208 runs.
The year before that, in 2023, Shubman Gill managed 638 runs in 12 ODI innings at an average of more than 70 with a strike rate of over 100, shouldering on one century and four half-centuries at the best score of 130 runs.
The appointment has confirmed that he would be opening with Rohit, at least for the first few games in the ICC event, unless he gets injured or the form gets dropped terribly. Yashasvi Jaiswal, the backup left-handed opener for the tournament, will have to warm the benches, as Virat Kohli will be slotted at number three.
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If Shreyas Iyer comes at number four, then the decision will be around one of KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. The latter’s left-handed skills are expected to keep him ahead in the race, with Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav going to be the front runners for the spin department.
The recent form for Shubman Gill has not been positive after a tough time in Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25. But he would be eager to cement his spot and stand up for the extra responsibility of vice-captaincy.