"I am not sure about Test cricket" - Aakash Chopra on whether Shubman Gill could be India's future captain after Rohit Sharma

Former India player Aakash Chopra has expressed uncertainty about Shubman Gill being India's future Test captain once Rohit Sharma's captaincy tenure ends. He opined that the Men in Blue will potentially have different captains in the three formats.

Rohit is currently leading India in the ongoing 2025 Champions Trophy, with Gill as his deputy. The Mumbaikar took over India's captaincy duties in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 when he joined the squad after the first Test but stood himself down for the final game due to lack of form.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the cricketer-turned-commentator was asked whether Gill could be India's future captain after Rohit.

"There is no doubt he could be, if we talk only about ODI cricket. I am not sure about Test cricket. Firstly, I feel he won't play at No. 3. He will go to No. 4. However, whether he will become the captain in the future, I have got no idea. I feel India are running fast towards three captains in the three formats," he responded (3:25).

Chopra acknowledged that Suryakumar Yadav, who is India's T20I captain currently, doesn't have age on his side. However, he opined that the Men in Blue's teams in the two white-ball formats might have limited overlap.

"Suryakumar Yadav is doing the T20I captaincy at the moment, but then he is also not 25. Whenever he gives up the captaincy, you will find another captain, and the T20I team will be made separately now. I don't think the T20I team will look a lot like the ODI team," he observed.

Shubman Gill hasn't played a T20I since July 2024 and wasn't part of India's 2024 T20 World Cup-winning squad. Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma have opened for the Men in Blue in the shortest format lately.

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"Shubman Gill is your next candidate" - Aakash Chopra on India's future ODI captain

Shubman Gill has been a prolific run-scorer in ODIs. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra opined that Shubman Gill will likely be India's next ODI captain.

"In ODIs, Shubman Gill is your next candidate. There is no doubt about that because, in my opinion, he is going to be a future great of ODI cricket. I really hope that he plays 200-250 ODIs for sure and scores a lot of runs," he said.

While observing that Suryakumar Yadav will continue to be the T20I captain for now, the former India opener reckoned that Jasprit Bumrah will likely lead the Test side after Rohit Sharma.

"One of the best of all times, he is that kind of a player. He is my captain for ODIs, no doubt. Suryakumar Yadav in T20Is and Jasprit Bumrah in Test cricket for now. Later, who knows. This is where we are heading actually," Chopra observed.

Shubman Gill captained the Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL 2024 but couldn't take them to the playoffs. He will lead the franchise in IPL 2025 too and a good run this season could bolster his chances of becoming India's future captain.