Shubman Gill ready to take over ODI captaincy from Rohit Sharma: Mohammad Kaif

Although India's 15-year search for a Test series victory in England was prolonged by their 2-2 draw to end the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, there were more encouraging aspects and opportunities than many anticipated. Shubman Gill's captaincy was the most important of these.

When Gill was chosen over more experienced contenders to lead the Test team on an important England tour, several issues were raised. The suspicions could not be immediately allayed by the backing of top selector Ajit Agarkar or head coach Gautam Gambhir. All those doubts were allayed, though, in the thrilling match at the Oval, which India won by a thrilling six runs to tie the series.

Shubman Gill received the highest marks for passing his first task as captain of the Test team. In addition to performing brilliantly with the bat, he delighted the cricket fraternity with his leadership abilities as the recently appointed captain for the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy.

Former India player Mohammad Kaif has begun to have faith in captain Shubman following an all-square five-match Test series against England. After Rohit Sharma, the current captain of India's ODI team, Kaif believed Gill would be the ideal person to lead the Blue Brigade in limited-overs cricket.

Gill's poise and tranquilly in his new leadership position particularly struck Kaif. He recognised that, considering his recent batting difficulties, Gill was under a lot of pressure going into the series. Kaif, however, highlighted the young cricketer's maturity and leadership abilities by applauding how he handled the team's dual duties as captain and batter.

“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 cricket. 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.

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