“This decision is a futuristic call” - R Ashwin opens up on Shubman Gill’s appointment as vice-captain for 2025 Champions Trophy

Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has backed the selectors' decision to appoint Shubman Gill as the vice-captain for the upcoming Champions Trophy. India announced their squad for the tournament and the preceding England ODIs on January 18.

Despite his stellar ODI numbers, Gill's promotion to vice-captaincy surprised many, considering the presence of other senior stars in the squad. The 25-year-old captained India's T20I side during the Zimbabwe tour last year and was the vice-captain for the subsequent ODI and T20I series in Sri Lanka.

Talking about Gill's appointment as Rohit Sharma's deputy in the ODI squad, Ashwin said on his YouTube channel 'Ashwin' (via India Today):

"Just think about whom else we can appoint as vice-captain from the current squad. I will not say whether the decision to appoint Gill was right or wrong, but the point that was raised was correct that he was the vice-captain in the last series as well."

"I could be wrong, but I guess he’s done some vice captaincy in Tests as well. I think this decision is a futuristic call as the management might be thinking about who could be their leader in the future," he added.

Gill boasts phenomenal ODI numbers with an average of over 58 and a strike rate of 101.74 in 47 outings. However, he struggled in India's most recent ODI series in Sri Lanka, averaging only 19 in three innings.

"He can lean on Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah to guide him" - Ravichandran Ashwin on Shubman Gill

Gill and Kohli have formed several useful partnerships for India in ODIs [Credit: Getty]

Ravichandran Ashwin remarked that Shubman Gill was among the few players assured of a place in India's ODI playing XI, making his appointment as vice-captain an obvious choice. The recently retired spinner also felt Gill would benefit from the presence of Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, should he become the captain in the future.

"If Shubman goes on to become a captain in the future, then he can lean on Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah to guide him. Axar Patel has been named as the vice-captain for the upcoming T20I series against England. There’s stiff competition between Axar and Jadeja that which one out of the two will play in the XI," Ashwin said in the same video.

He continued:

"If we look at Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul, the latter is an incumbency keeper. There could be a possibility that both Pant and Rahul play but they’ve given the vice captaincy to the player whose place in the playing XI is confirmed."

Gill is coming off a poor run in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 in Australia, averaging under 19 in five innings.

Meanwhile, the England ODI series will start on February 6, following the five T20Is. The eight-team Champions Trophy will begin on February 19, with India playing their first match against Bangladesh on February 20.