3 reasons why the BCCI's heavy backing of Shubman Gill the captain is justified

Shubman Gill seems to be the BCCI's next golden boy, with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma reaching the end of their respective careers. India are clearly ready to thrust the talented youngster into leadership roles going forward.

Gill has been named the vice-captain of the ODI and T20I squads for the Sri Lanka tour, which will commence tomorrow in Pallekele. While he is yet to nail down his spot in two of the three formats, the 24-year-old is an immensely talented player whose ceiling is scarcely imaginable.

Even from a captaincy standpoint, Gill's backing makes sense. Various other factors seem to be aligning for the top-order batter to be at the helm in the future.

T20I squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj.

ODI squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.

On that note, here are three reasons why the BCCI's heavy backing of Shubman Gill's captaincy career is justified.

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#3 The other options, including Hardik Pandya, are unconvincing

South Africa v India: Final - ICC Men's T20 Cricket World Cup West Indies & USA 2024 - Source: Getty

Rohit Sharma is nearing the end of his captaincy career, having retired from T20Is. The 2025 Champions Trophy could be a target for the veteran batter, who would be more than 40 years old by the time the 2027 World Cup rolls around. He isn't the fittest man on the team, either.

Hardik Pandya's captaincy has been shrouded by controversies, and his workload needs to be managed carefully. Shreyas Iyer doesn't have a central contract anymore and seemingly cannot be appointed the ODI captain, while KL Rahul is another player whose leadership has been questionable.

Rishabh Pant is an option, but the keeper-batter has made a serious of dubious calls while leading the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League. While he likely remains in the picture, it won't hurt India to turn to other options like Shubman Gill.

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#2 Shubman Gill has shown calmness and tactical smarts as captain

IPL 2023: Qualifier 2 - Gujarat Titans v Mumbai Indians - Source: Getty

In his first season at the helm of the Gujarat Titans, Shubman Gill was faced with a host of challenges - injuries, an underperforming batting lineup, and selection questions, to name a few. While he couldn't take his team to the playoffs and had a disappointing campaign with the bat, the GT skipper did enough to suggest that he has what it takes to lead the side.

Gill was on point from a tactical perspective more often than not. Even in the recent T20I series against Zimbabwe, the Indian skipper oversaw a demoralizing loss in the opening game before bouncing back to clinch the rubber 4-1.

The way Gill has articulated his thoughts in post-match press conferences, coupled with his decisions on the field, has suggested that he could make a good leader.

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#1 Soon, Shubman Gill's place in the team won't be in question

India v England - 4th Test Match: Day Four - Source: Getty

India need to turn to a young captain who can steer the ship over a good portion of the next decade, and they need someone who is nailed down to play most of their games across formats. While that hasn't quite happened yet for Shubman Gill, it's clearly only a matter of time.

Gill hasn't been at his best in Tests, but he played a couple of crucial knocks in the high-octane series against England. He is bound to become a red-ball mainstay in the upcoming World Test Championship cycles; he's simply too good a player.

Gill is one of the world's best ODI openers and will have the chance to crack T20Is as well, with Rohit and Kohli having moved on. Soon, he will be an indispensable member of all three sides, making him the perfect candidate to be stable with the reins.