Australian white-ball legend fires warning ahead of Shubman Gill's debut as India ODI captain: 'I’d say Australia 2-1'

Team India is set to begin a new era later this month when they travel to Australia for a white-ball tour, starting with a three-match ODI series that gets underway on 19 October. The one-dayers, after all, will mark Shubman Gill’s debut as India captain in the blue jersey, with the 26-year-old having taken over the role from white-ball legend Rohit Sharma in the 50-over format during the squad announcement on Saturday.

Both Rohit and fellow batting icon Virat Kohli have been included in the squad for the Australia tour, with Shreyas Iyer now elevated to the role of vice-captain.

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Finch predicts Australian victory on Gill’s debut as ODI captain

Former Australia captain Aaron Finch, meanwhile, Gill’s tenure as ODI captain might not begin on a positive note the way his tenure as Test captain began in England earlier this year.

Finch, who was part of the Michael Clarke-led Australian team that won the 2015 ICC World Cup on home soil, expects the Men in Blue to put up a fight but the hosts to ultimately prevail in the three-match series.

“It will be a great series. It always is against India and I think having Virat back in there brings out the best in him against Australia,” Finch was quoted as saying on the International Cricket Council website.

“It’s always a great battle when you look at it on paper as it’s very evenly matched, but I’d say Australia 2-1. Not confidently though as India are a great side and it will just be a great series to watch,” he added.

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‘Shubman has already shown what a good leader he is’

Gill had impressed with his captaincy during the tour of England recently, having led the Indian team to a 2-2 draw in the five-Test series after succeeding Rohit in the five-day format as well.

The top-order batter thus will be carrying a lot of expectations heading into his maiden assignment as ODI captain, also because he has proven his potential as a white-ball leader in the Indian premier League, where he led Gujarat Titans to the playoffs this year.

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Finch, who had led Australia to their only T20 World Cup title in the UAE four years ago, hailed Gill’s leadership skills in the Test and T20 formats, and believes he could shine in the 50-over game as well down the road, if not right away in Australia.

“Shubman has already shown what a good leader he is in T20 cricket and Test cricket, so I’m sure this will be no different.

“He’s a brilliant player, particularly in the white-ball formats and the way that he captained against England in the Test series is just a huge tick in his box to take the next step and takeover the Indian leadership right the way through,” he added.

The ODI series between Australia and India gets underway in Perth on 19 October, with Adelaide and Sydney hosting the second and third matches on 23 and 25 October respectively.

That will be followed by a five-match T20I series that takes place from 29 October to 8 November, in which Suryakumar Yadav will continue as captain with Gill as his deputy.

Surya is expected to lead the Men in Blue in the shortest format until the T20 World Cup that India co-hosts with Sri Lanka early next year, with Gill expected to take over the role after the tournament and become India’s next all-formats captain after Rohit.