Former India cricketer Irafn Pathan believes that newly-appointed ODI captain Shubman Gill will be able to learn a lot with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli present in the upcoming series against Australia. However, he also feels that the assignment will be nothing short of a "big challenge" for Gill as he will have to take the team forward and will also have to ensure that juniors give respect to the seniors irrespective of their performance.
"India will be under a new leader. They will play under Shubman Gill. A big challenge for Gill will be with how much respect he moves forward with Rohit Sharma. This is very important. A lot depends on how much respect juniors give the seniors. I am sure Gill respects both Rohit and Virat. It will be important to see how you can take Rohit forward irrespective of his performance. This will be a challenge on the field and off the field," Pathan said on his YouTube channel.
Gill to lead India for first time in one-day cricket
Notably, this will be the first time that Gill will be leading the Indian team in ODIs. The 26-year-old has rapidly risen through the ranks ever since he was appointed as the Men in Blue's Test captain ahead of the England series. After he led the team to a 2-2 series draw, he was recalled to the T20 set-up as the vice-captain and was then named the one-day skipper as well. It remains to be seen if Gill will be able to lead the side to a series victory Down Under.
Pathan's playing XI
Meanwhile, Pathan also picked India's playing XI for the first match of the ODI series against Australia that will be played at the Optus Stadium in Perth on October 19. He decided to hand ODI debut to Nitish Kumar Reddy and also included Harshit Rana in the XI. He chose Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel as the spin options and picked Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj as the pacers to lead the attack. In the batting order, he picked Rohit and Gill as the openers with Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul coming in to bat next.
"I think Harshit will play. He is the only bowler in this unit who can also bat. I think he will be promoted to the number eight position. I see him in that position as the third fast bowler. It will be an opportunity for him also to perform," Pathan stated.
Irfan Pathan's playing XI for 1st ODI vs Australia: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (C), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vc), KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj.