Kolkata : Wriddhiman Saha has rated Shubman Gill, also his IPL ex teammate in Gujarat Titans , highly upon being appointed as Test skipper.
Recently, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announced retirement from the longest format unexpectedly. Prior to that, Ravi Ashwin also retired in middle of Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 to everyone’s surprise.
Saha, who played with Rohit Sharma, Ravi Ashwin and Virat Kohli has termed their sudden retirement from Test at this stage as ‘unexpected’.
The former wicket keeper, in an exclusive interview with Sportslight Media said, “It’s really unexpected for all the 3 (Ravi Ashwin, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma) to retire, they’re not in a stage to retire. Maybe Ashwin would have retired earlier than Rohit and Kohli”.
Saha went on to say that whatever resources India have, should implement in right way in order to win upcoming series against England, rather than thinking about what happened. Replacements of the 3 should be found soon.
“Whatever resources are available now, Indian team should think about it, and fill the vacant places they (Rohit, Virat, Ashwin) have left. If they can do so, then we can expect good results in upcoming series against England“, Saha continued.
However, Saha states concerns regarding injury issues of premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah. If that continues, India could be defeated in England series. It is to be noted that, Bumrah faced great stress on his back during Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 and was ruled out until the IPL, missing ICC CT 2025. He is not expected to play full series for managing workload.
“In bowling lineup we saw that, in Australia, there’s pressure on Jasprit Bumrah, and if this continues, winning series against England will be tougher. That’s why exceptional Batting is needed, and Bowling lineup will help then”.
Saha rated Shubman Gill highly in terms of Test captaincy. Gill have been captaining Gujarat Titans for 2 years, and also domestic teams. According to Saha, Gill is a long term captaincy option at least for 10-15 years, unlike Bumrah, who is injury prone and if made captain, will create inconsistency, as he sits out due to injury. And more Gill will captain, more he’ll improve.
“He (Shubman Gill) captained for 2 years in IPL and in domestic too, that’s why he’s long term selection, like 10-15 years he can serve, so he was given captainship by management. He contributed in many matches, winning matches for India, scoring runs. Bumrah captained in Australia, this series he might play 19-20, to prevent injuries, that’s why to keep consistent captainship option, without changing, Gill is seen as long term. The more Gill will captain, more he will mature and improve decision making skills. He has the capability to show that”, Saha concluded.
