Veteran India spinner Amit Mishra has criticized Shubman Gill‘s promotion as India‘s captain for the recently concluded T20I series against Zimbabwe. Mishra labeled the young opener as a ‘clueless captain’ despite leading India to a 4-1 series victory. Gill had previously taken over as captain of the Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2024, but was underwhelming, with the team winning only 5 out of 14 games and failing to reach the playoffs, finishing 8th in the points table.

In an interview on Shubhankar Mishra’s YouTube podcast, the veteran spinner questioned the decision to appoint Gill as captain, claiming that Ruturaj Gaikwad would have been a more suitable choice.

“Given Gill’s clueless captaincy on display during this IPL season, I would not have appointed him as the team’s captain,” stated Mishra.

“Shubman Gill has batted superbly in the IPL over the past few seasons and has also excelled for the Indian team. However, his leadership abilities were not as evident in the IPL. Despite his strong individual performances, the decision to make Gill the captain of the Indian team may be premature, as he still lacks the necessary leadership experience,” he added.

Mishra named Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, and Ruturaj Gaikwad as potential T20 leaders, highlighting them as suitable options. Gaikwad was included in the squad for the Zimbabwe series, while Samson joined the team from the second match.

“I noticed during the IPL, he visibly lacked captaincy skills and experience. It is puzzling why the team would appoint him as captain. Simply being part of the Indian team does not automatically qualify one for a captaincy role, and this decision raises valid questions,” he noted.