Top 5 experts who praised Shubman Gill's appointment as India ODI captain ft. Sunil Gavaskar

Shubman Gill was appointed India's ODI captain ahead of their limited-overs tour of Australia on Saturday, October 4. The Punjab batter, who was named India's Test captain earlier this year ahead of their tour of England, impressed by leading the side to a 2-2 draw.

Gill replaces Rohit Sharma at the helm in the ODIs. The latter is the most successful ODI captain India has had, and most recently led the team to the ICC Champions Trophy title in March earlier this year. Sharma had a win percentage of 75% in ODIs, second only to the legendary Clive Lloyd (76.2%) of the West Indies.

Sharma also led Team India to two Asia Cups, in 2018 and 2023. He also came agonisingly close to winning the holy grail of the ODI World Cup, falling at the final hurdle to Australia in 2023.

Gill's appointment as India's ODI captain received a lot of praise from all quarters of the cricket-following public. Several pundits, experts and legends also weighed in with their comments, with many celebrating the move. In this article, we take a look at five experts who commended Gill's appointment:

#5 David Gower

Former England captain David Gower, often remarked to be the most stylish batter of his generation, spoke on a special edition of Cricket Predicta about Gill's appointment. The southpaw felt that Sharma and Kohli may not play the 2027 ODI World Cup, and hence, going with Gill was the right choice.

Gower, renowned for driving bowlers mad with his backfoot punches through the covers, ended with 8,231 runs in 117 Tests. He batted with a wristy elegance often associated with batters from the Indian subcontinent. Now a celebrated TV pundit, the 'prince with the golden hair' welcomed Gill's promotion.

“I don’t see Virat and Rohit playing in the 2027 World Cup… Pant, yes, despite being injury-prone. The team will rely on young leaders like Gill to shape the future. This is a perfect opportunity for him to step up and guide India to success," Gower said.

#4 Madan Lal

India's 1983 ODI World Cup-winner Madan Lal, who was also a part of the same show with Gower, commended the Indian selectors for going ahead with Gill as the captain of the ODI side.

Lal added a slight twist to his remarks by saying that it would be interesting to see how Sharma fared under Gill's captaincy.

“This is an excellent decision by the selectors. Making Gill the captain is a forward-looking move. He will be prepared for the World Cup. Now, it will be interesting to see how Rohit Sharma performs under Gill's leadership. He is an excellent leader and has proven himself in Test cricket. He came very close to breaking Don Bradman's record in the England Test series," said Lal on an episode of Cricket Predicta.

#3 Aaron Finch

Former Australia captain Aaron Finch spoke to the ICC about how good a decision this was by the Indian selectors. Finch mentioned that Gill held his own well on the tour of England, and with Sharma and Kohli on the field with him now, he should be able to turn to them for guidance.

The ex-opener, known for getting his team off to explosive starts, said that Gill was a fantastic cricketer, especially in white-ball cricket. He felt that though Gill did not have many people to turn to for advice on the tour of England, he handled things with composure, and that was the making of him.

“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 take over the Indian leadership across all three formats,” Finch said to the ICC.

“When you look back at that England Test series, he didn’t have many other options to turn to for advice when he was on the ground, but he did a wonderful job himself. In his case, just having guys like Rohit and Kohli there will provide a real calmness. It allows him to bounce ideas off them, both on and off the field, about how he wants the team to function going forward, because they’ve been such a huge part of the team for a long period of time,” he added.

#2 AB de Villiers

South Africa legend AB de Villiers endorsed India's move to make Gill their next ODI captain. Affectionately known as Mr 360 for his ability to play shots to all corners of the ground, De Villiers felt there was no guarantee that either Sharma or Kohli would be around for the 2027 ODI World Cup.

De Villiers, who is known to be a good friend of Kohli's, also felt that the latter and Sharma would walk into any side irrespective of their form. However, the former wicketkeeper-batter mentioned that deciding to make Gill the ODI captain was taken with an eye on the future.

"It’s not a guarantee both of them will be there for that next World Cup. That’s maybe part of the thinking when they made Shubman Gill the ODI captain. He has a good chance of being there, young gun, in incredible form and a fantastic leader. I think this was the right move, to still have Rohit and Virat. Shubman Gill will learn from two of the most experienced Indian players of all time, high quality, legendary players. It will be fantastic for Shubman to have them around. It will be for the tour which is around the corner actually. So, we will be bucking up for some high-entertainment and a great series," De Villiers said on his YouTube channel.

"They [Kohli and Sharma] find themselves in the ODI side. I think that is the reason they are hanging on, to play another World Cup for Team India. It’s great to see. Whether it’s going to happen, I don’t know. Honestly? Form-dependent or are they playing enough cricket? It will take a lot from them to be there in 2027. Still a long way away. It’s not that far but it’s not so close. There’s lots of cricket to be played and form to be kept. They’ve got to score runs and that should be the message from the selectors. As big as legends they are, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will walk into my team and I will play them without looking at where they’ve been or what they’ve been doing," he added.

#1 Sunil Gavaskar

Indian cricket's behemoth, Sunil Gavaskar, who established the side on the world stage with his tenacity and fearless batting, was not surprised by Gill's appointment as ODI captain. He felt the selectors were looking towards the 2027 ODI World Cup, where Kohli and Sharma might not feature.

Gavaskar, who was the first man to score 10,000 Test runs, felt that if Gill was good enough to be the captain in one format, he was good enough for others as well. The Mumbaikar also hinted that Gill might be made India's T20I captain soon, as he is currently the vice-captain in the shortest format.

"Not surprised because you've got to look forward to 2027, the next 50-over World Cup. At the moment, the T20I captaincy is in the hands of Suryakumar Yadav, who just won us the Asia Cup. Shubman was the vice-captain there. So, clearly the message is that he will soon be an all-format captain," Gavaskar told Sports Today.

"Whoever is going to lead, has got to be an absolute certainty. He has got to be an automatic pick in the XI. In that case, you can have him as captain. It is not easy to have three different captains. It is not easy for the other players in the team who might be playing all three formats. If a player is good enough to captain in one format, he should be the captain in all three formats," he added.