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How Gill's Vice-Captaincy Appointment In T20Is Exposed Gambhir's Hypocrisy

Anurag Dasgupta

Gambhir exposed for earlier verdict [Source: @WorshipDhoni/x.com] Gambhir exposed for earlier verdict [Source: @WorshipDhoni/x.com]

On Tuesday, the BCCI revealed India's 15-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, and while the core of the team was retained by the management, some shocking inclusions and exclusions were made. Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal's omission was the talking point as the Men in Blue will enter the tournament as the favourites.

Apart from this, one major talking point was the appointment of Shubman Gill as the vice-captain of the team. Before this, it was Axar Patel, the Delhi Capitals captain who had the vice-captaincy arm-band, but that was snatched from him, and was given to Gill.

This decision exposed one of Gautam Gambhir's earlier statement given in 2019, when he questioned the Indian management for removing him as vice-captain, and giving the same position to Virat Kohli.

When Gambhir blasted BCCI for removing him as vice captain

Almost six years ago, Gautam Gambhir voiced his opinion on his vice-captaincy removal, and also took a dig at Kohli, and MS Dhoni.

"The CB series that I was talking about, India did not qualify for the final, Australia and Sri Lanka did. I was the vice-captain, MS Dhoni was the captain. After that series , we were supposed to travel for a tri-series involving India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. We had not qualified for the final, before that we had lost the Test series 4-0. Dhoni was also under pressure, he was the captain," Gautam Gambhir is found saying in an old video.


"If something was changed after the CB series it was the vice-captain. I was removed and Virat Kohli was made the vice-captain. In the history of India or any sport, has it happened even once when the vice-captain was removed but the captain was intact. You can confront me, if I am wrong. Duncan Fletcher was the coach then. I asked him what was the reason behind that decision. He said it was the selectors' decision. I then asked him 'For what, then, did you go to the meeting?" asked Gambhir.

How Gambhir took a U-turn from his statement in 2025

When Gambhir became India head coach in July 2024, the first thing he did was to remove Hardik Pandya from the vice-captaincy duties. A few days prior, Hardik played a huge role in India's T20 World Cup triumph, and despite being a key player, he was removed, and Axar was handed the vice-captaincy armband.

Now, when Axar did well in the T20I format, and became an integral member, he was removed from the post, and Gill, who hadn't featured in T20Is since July 2024 was appointed the new vice-captain.