It is now known that Shubman Gill is the frontrunner for the India captain’s job on the upcoming tour of England. Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul, sources confirm, aren’t altogether out of the race just yet, but are behind Gill in the pecking order. That’s what brings me to Pant. He is having a shocking IPL. Picked for 27 crores by the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Pant has had a nightmarish last month or so.
But that’s where the issue is. Is his IPL form being taken as a yardstick when India’s Test match captain is being chosen? Hasn’t Pant been the best Indian batter in Test cricket overseas in the last few years? With hundreds in England, Australia and South Africa, the first Indian keeper to do so, he has played some of the most outstanding Test innings of recent times. Yet, he isn’t the frontrunner for captaincy. He featured in all the Test matches in Australia and did not look unfit. In fact, it was his 60 that gave India a whiff in Sydney, to try and level the series 2-2.
Should white-ball form be considered while making red-ball choices? Can things be segregated as such? Is the counter-argument that his lack of white-ball form could impact him negatively and hence the selectors want to play it safe?
It is also true that Gill’s overseas record in the last few years is nothing to write home about. He hasn’t scored a single 50 in SENA countries since 2021 and all his runs have been scored in home conditions. Pant, on the other hand, has a far better record. Rahul too is in the fray but his captaincy record for India hasn’t been great.
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So, what makes Gill the frontrunner? Are the selectors going by potential and how he has led in the IPL? In Australia, it was Jasprit Bumrah who was vice-captain and, in his absence, Virat Kohli had stepped in to do the job in Sydney.
Gill, his overseas record suggests, will be a gamble. There is no debate that he has the talent. He is extremely pleasing to the eye and has been around long enough to step up as and when asked to. And yet, there is always the lingering fear that he hasn’t done justice in SENA countries and doesn’t have much to showcase. England will be an extremely tough tour and unless you are strong enough to absorb the pressure, it could turn out to be very difficult for India. England will understandably come hard knowing that India are in transition. That’s where the new skipper has to step up and take control.
If Gill scores big with the bat, he will make a first-class leader in England. The confidence of runs will rub off on his captaincy, and he will do a reasonable job. However, if he fails with the bat, it could all go downhill as leader. In many ways, the England series is expected to be one of the most difficult India have undertaken in recent times. And whoever is appointed skipper, it could be baptism by fire. India will start serious underdogs, and a good result would come as a pleasant surprise.
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