Gill-Gambhir lunch meeting hints at imminent Test captaincy for Shubman: Report

Amid rumours on who can be India’s next Test captain, the report of Shubman Gill meeting Gautam Gambhir over lunch has emerged as the biggest hint. read more

Shubman Gill becoming India’s next Test team captain looks almost a formality now after reports emerged that the 25-year-old batter had a l a few days back, besides also holding discussions with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief selector.

Gill, who averages 35.05 after 32 Tests, has emerged as the favourite to replace Rohit Sharma as the Indian Test team’s captain after the former retired from the format . Gill’s rise ahead of senior players like Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja has shocked a few fans and experts, but the decision-makers, it seems, are ready to roll the dice.

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Gill meets Gambhir on lunch

As per a report in the Times of India, Gill will be named the captain when the squad for the England tour is announced. He also had a lunch meeting with head coach Gautam Gambhir a few days back and the duo reportedly discussed things for as long as four to five hours.

The report also states that Gill met BCCI chief selectors Ajit Agarkar on 6 May in Mumbai after the Gujarat Titans’ (GT) match against the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Wankhede Stadium.

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One of the reasons BCCI is looking at Gill is that they want a long-term option. “He has shown impressive leadership qualities in the way he has led GT, who are currently topping the table this season,” a source told TOI.

The news of Gill meeting Gambhir in Delhi has also been confirmed by the news agency PTI. Its report added that Gill is now a shoo-in as India’s next Test captain as all BCCI top officials have been taken into confidence about the decision.

“Head coach Gautam Gabhir’s presence in Mumbai (on Thursday), for offering puja at the Siddhivinayak Temple, had the rumour mills working overtime that Shubman Gill is still not a done deal for the leadership role. With the new captain-in-waiting having an extended meeting with the head coach in the national capital a few days back, there is little chance for the selectors or Gambhir to retract from their original stand,” the PTI report said.

“There were rumours that influential people running Indian cricket aren’t exactly happy with Gill’s sudden elevation but it would be completely foolhardy to believe that those powerful men weren’t taken into confidence before the Punjab batter was zeroed in as the next Test leader,” the report added.

The Indian Test team should be out by the end of May and the first batch of players is expected to leave for England in the first week of June. The five-match Test series starts on 20 June.

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