Shubman Gill’s India made a rollicking start to the series decider against New Zealand as new ball bowlers Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana removed the Kiwi openers in the first two overs of the third and final ODI at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Sunday. However, the hosts let the momentum slip as Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips hammered the bowlers all around the park, stitching together a 219-run stand for the fourth wicket. When the two batters were going strong, Gill looked clueless, and he didn’t have many answers to the onslaught from the visitors.
India’s captain Shubman Gill dives to field the ball. (AP)
For the majority of the death overs, KL Rahul was seen moving the fielders around as he had the best view from behind the stumps, while Gill was seen playing second fiddle. It was then that former New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Ian Smith noticed that Gill was not very proactive in his captaincy, and that the bulk of the talking to the bowlers was being done by KL Rahul.
Pointing to the chatter between Rahul and Arshdeep during the 43rd over of New Zealand’s innings, Smith said Gill needs to be more involved in the game and that it is his job to rally the troops. However, Smith also said he understands that Gill is new to the captaincy and that it will take him some time to grow into the role. India were bossing the game at one stage when the Black Caps were 58/3, but Mitchell and Phillips brought the innings back on track as the duo hit centuries.
“I know that Shubman Gill is just learning the art of captaincy. But there’s a lot, even now KL Rahul is chatting to Arshdeep down there as if to say, these are jobs that vice captains do,” said Smith on air during the over bowled by Mohammed Siraj. It is also important to state that just before this over, Kuldeep Yadav had conceded 19 runs as Phillips and Mitchell let loose.
“Shubman Gill is now coming down to long off, which basically takes him out of the play. You’ve got to be part of the action as the captain, particularly when your team is under pressure,” he added.
‘You’ve got Virat and Rohit’
Smith was also quick to say that the current Indian team is tough to captain for someone like Gill, as it features several seasoned pros, including Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, and KL Rahul.
“I appreciate this as a young player. This is a hard team to captain because of the people around you within the group who have been former captains, most of them as well,” said Smith.
“You’ve got Rahul, you’ve got Virat Kohli, of course, you’ve got Rohit Sharma. You’ve got Shreyas Iyer, you’ve got senior players around you. And it’s not always easy to take charge effectively,” he added.
Earlier, in the series decider, India captain Gill won the toss and opted to bowl first. New Zealand posted in 50 overs, owing to knocks of 137 and 106 by Mitchell and Phillips. Arshdeep was the pick of the Indian bowlers, returning with three wickets in his quota of 10 overs and giving away 63 runs. Harshit also scalped three, but he gave away more than 80 runs and was unable to keep the run flow in check.
Speaking about Gill, he was named ODI captain last year and succeeded Rohit. In his first ODI series as the skipper, India lost 1-2 Down Under, and he missed the next contest against South Africa due to a neck injury.