 "Sehwag believes Pant should have been the captain instead of Gill. Image: Insta-Sehwag/AFP")
Ever since the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced Shubman Gill as the new captain of the Indian Test team, there has been a lot of buzz in the cricket world. The latest to share his views on the development is former India cricketer Virender Sehwag.
Sehwag said that Shubman Gill was not the second-best option for captaincy after Jasprit Bumrah. According to Sehwag, it was Rishabh Pant who deserved to be India’s Test captain when Bumrah reportedly denied the job due to workload pressure and injury concerns.
Sehwag says Pant should have been the captain
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Sehwag agreed with the selectors for not choosing Bumrah as captain but disagreed with former cricketer Manoj Tiwary, who said Gill was the second-best choice. When the BCCI announced the squad for the England series last week, Ajit Agarkar said they wanted to pick someone for the long term.
“For a series, Bumrah is okay. But as a long-term option, you need to ask if India play 10 Tests in a year, will he be able to play all those matches? Or, how many matches can he play? That is a major factor in picking a captain. So that I feel was the right decision, because they felt they could not put that pressure and load on Bumrah. Tiwary said Gill is the second-best, but I feel that is Rishabh Pant, and Gill is the third-best,” Sehwag said.
Sehwag explains his views
Explaining his view, Sehwag said that after Virat Kohli, the player who should be credited for reviving Indian fans’ interest in Test cricket is Rishabh Pant. Sehwag cited Pant’s performances in Test cricket before he got injured in a car accident that ruled him out of the game for more than a year. Pant famously hit the winning runs in the Gabba Test when India won their second consecutive away series against Australia.
“What Pant did for Test cricket, no other player has done. After Virat Kohli, if there is one player who has compelled fans into watching Test cricket, it’s Pant. But because he had that accident, got injured and then came back, he did not have that much of an impact, and hence he was made the vice-captain, thinking that if he can bounce back to form, they can take that decision of making him the captain in the future. But there are very few bowlers who are made the captain. In my career, it was just Anil Kumble, who loved the format, was available and was a certainty in the XI,” Sehwag said.
India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar explained why the BCCI picked Shubman Gill as captain instead of Rishabh Pant, who got the role of the deputy.
“I mean, he’s the vice-captain. He’s been one of our best batters in Test cricket over the last four or five years—around 40 Tests, I believe. He’s always had a great view of the game from behind the stumps as a wicketkeeper, and that experience is invaluable. That’s why he’s Shubman’s deputy right now—he can support him with all the experience he brings. He’s an incredible player. We’re obviously looking at players who can take the team forward in the coming years,” Agarkar said.