'He is ready to take over from Rohit Sharma as India's ODI captain': Former India star's big claim on Shubman Gill after superlative show in England tour

Former India star batter's Mohammad Kaif believes that Shubman Gill is the ideal candidate to take over as India's next ODI captain once Rohit Sharma's tenure concludes. Gill, who is 25 years old, recently led a relatively inexperienced Indian side in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England, guiding them to a 2-2 series draw as the stand-in Test captain.

Shubman Gill to replace Rohit Sharma as India's ODI captain?

Kaif was particularly impressed by Gill's calmness and composure in his new leadership role. He acknowledged the significant pressure Gill faced heading into the series, given his recent struggles with the bat. However, Kaif praised how the young cricketer managed the dual responsibilities of captaining the team and performing as a batter, highlighting his maturity and leadership qualities.

"He was such a calm captain. He led with composure under pressure. He will get the ODI captaincy as well because we don't know how long Rohit Sharma will continue as captain. Gill is ready to take over. He scores in white-ball. He has performed well as captain here in Tests and led from the front. When you go with a young team, you have to do both things – score with the bat and do well as captain. A brilliant tour for him overall," Kaif said on his YouTube channel.

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Gill was the leading run-scorer in the five-match series, finishing with an impressive 754 runs from 10 innings at an average of 75.40. The Punjab batter was in sensational form, hitting four centuries throughout the series. His career-best performance came in the first innings of the second Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham, where he scored a monumental 269 runs.

“Shubman Gill, as captain, created opportunities with both hands in this series. When he became captain, there were many questions as to why he was made captain, looking at his Test record. A young captain reached England under a lot of pressure with a young team. He answered with his bat and it came to a point where he was compared to breaking Sir Don Bradman's record. Such a strong comeback with the bat,” he concluded.

While Gill might next be seen in the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, Rohit's next assignment will be the ODI series against Australia and South Africa later this year.