“He is a bigger player than Gill” - Former Pakistan cricketer picks future India captain

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has earmarked Rishabh Pant for India’s future captaincy role instead of Shubman Gill, vice-captain for the 2025 Champions Trophy. The 54-year-old reckoned that Pant's leadership will benefit himself as well as Indian cricket. He further picked Yashasvi Jaiswal over Gill in India's playing XI in the 50-over format.

The remarks came as Gill managed just 93 runs in five innings during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. However, the 25-year-old has 2,328 runs in 47 ODIs at an average of 58.20, including six tons and 13 half-centuries with a best score of 208. The Punjab batter returned scores of 16, 35 and 6 in the last ODI series in Sri Lanka, where the Men in Blue lost by a 0-2 margin.

Basit Ali said on his YouTube channel:

"21:35- It’s not that I like Jaiswal a lot (over Shubman Gill). He is a bigger player than Gill. My vote for future India captain is Rishabh Pant. Gill might be highly rated as a captain, but in my opinion, Rishabh Pant’s quality is beneficial to India and his own cricket as well. He will change his game if chosen."

"21:35 – Don’t call him [Gill] overrated, if he scores 100 against Pakistan then you’ll praise him. Even then, I would call Jaiswal a better player, including technically. He has everything better compared to Gill," he added.

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"Without Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant, India’s XI will face problems" - Basit Ali on 2025 ICC Champions Trophy

Basit Ali further believes that India need two left-handed batters to succeed in the 2025 Champions Trophy. He wants the Men in Blue to include both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant in their playing XI. He also opined why Pant should be chosen over KL Rahul.

Ali said in the above video:

"2:10- In my opinion, it’s important for India to have left-handers - as an opener and in the middle order. In my view, there can’t be an XI without Jaiswal. Not without Rishabh Pant as well because he is one player who plays all over the ground, Rahul doesn’t have those qualities.

He added:

"Rahul is a steady, solid player. If three wickets fall [early], he can stand there but in that scenario, he can’t change his game rapidly, can’t bring in the turbo. Without Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant, India’s XI will face problems whether it is a bilateral series or Champions Trophy."

"15:50 – If [two specialists] left-handers won’t play, it looks impossible for India to reach the final and Dubai is not their favorite ground," he added.

India Champions Trophy 2025 squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, and Ravindra Jadeja.