Shubman Gill [Source: @CricCrazyJohns/x]
Shubman Gill along with the rest of his Indian teammates took flight for England on June 6 for the upcoming five-match Test series against the hosts. The dashing top-order batter was appointed as new India captain last month following the retirement of senior pros Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has now given his assessment over Gill’s leadership abilities by citing his IPL record for the Gujarat Titans franchise.
Ponting Says Appointing Shubman Gill The “Right Move”
Ricky Ponting believes that appointing Shubman Gill as India’s Test captain is the right move on part of the Indian team management. The former Australian cricketer cited Gill’s captaincy record for the Gujarat Titans franchise in IPL, stating that leaderships seem to “sit really well” with the Indian top-order star.
Moreover, Ponting also added that Shubman Gill is a kind of player who will score a lot of Test runs as captain going forward. While speaking on the ICC Review, he said:
“I actually think it's the right move. Looking back at the way he's handled this current GT (Gujarat Titans) team through this IPL, I think leadership sits really well with him. And the important thing for me with leadership as well as if you're a batter and you're a captain, you have to be scoring runs. And Shubman is doing that in IPL and I think the timing is right and I think you'll have a good captain who’ll make a lot of Test runs going forward.”
Shubman Gill will be leading the Indian team in England for his first Test assignment later this month. The series will commence from June 20 onwards at Headingley in Leeds.
The five matches will also constitute a part of the 2025-27 WTC cycle for both sides.