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Aaron Finch hints tough start to Shubman Gill's ODI captaincy debut in Australia: Despite Virat Kohli's return...
Finch praised Shubman Gill’s leadership, citing his IPL success and composed show in England as proof he’s ready to take charge as India’s all-format captain.
Former Australian captain Aaron Finch has shared his prediction for the upcoming three-match ODI series against India. With Shubman Gill set to lead India in his first series as ODI captain, Finch expects a closely fought contest but tipped Australia to edge the series 2-1. The 38-year-old Rohit Sharma and 36-year-old Virat Kohli are both included in India’s squad for the three-match series starting on October 19. However, Rohit lost his captaincy to Shubman, who also took over the charge of the Test team recently.
Finch previewed the upcoming ODI series between India and Australia, calling it a “great series” and highlighting the competitive balance. He noted that Virat Kohli’s presence makes the clash even more exciting, predicting a closely fought contest with Australia edging it 2-1, while praising India as a strong and formidable side.
"It will be a great series," Finch told ICC Digital from Colombo as part of his commentary commitments at the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup.
“It always is against India and I think having Virat back in there brings out the best in him against Australia. It's always a great battle when you look at it on paper as it's very evenly matched, but I'd say Australia (win the series) 2-1. Not confidently though as India are a great side and it will just be a great series to watch,” he added.
He further gave his take on Shubman's leadership ability and said he has proven himself that in T20 with IPL and then a confident show on the England tour, he was a big tick-mark to become the all-format captain of India.
"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," Finch noted.
“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 takeover the Indian leadership right the way through (all three formats),” he added.
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“Having Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli there will be a real calmness for Shubman Gill”: Finch
Finch reflected on Shubman’s early captaincy during the England Test series, praising his independent decision-making. He added that having experienced leaders like Rohit and Kohli around will provide Gill with guidance and calmness, offering valuable insights on strategy and team management both on and off the field.
"I think when you look back to that England Test series he (Gill) didn't have many other options that he could turn to for advice, probably when he was out on the ground, but he did a wonderful job himself.
"But I think just having those guys (Rohit and Kohli) there will be a real calmness for him as well, because it's the ability to bounce ideas, both on and off the field on how you want the team to function going forward, because they've been such a huge part of the team for a long period of time."
