Michael Vaughan tells BCCI to take big u-turn, advocates for Virat Kohli's return as Test skipper for England tour
Former England skipper Michael Vaughan has advised India to pick Virat Kohli as captain for the England tour and Shubman Gill as his deputy.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is facing a dilemma as the new captain of Test cricket for the upcoming England tour is to be announced. The speculations are rife that the selectors have already decided to look for the future and have decided to pick Shubman Gill as the successor to Rohit Sharma in the red-ball format. However, his overseas red-ball form and lack of leadership experience in red-ball cricket have raised doubts over his BCCI's reported decision.
Former England skipper Michael Vaughan has advised India to pick Virat Kohli as captain for the England tour and Shubman as his deputy.
“If I was India I would give the captaincy to Virat for the Test series in England .. Shubman Gill can be his VC for the tour .. #India,” Vaughan wrote on X.
Meanwhile, there is also great uncertainty over Kohli's future, as several reports suggest that he is contemplating retiring from the red-ball format. However, the BCCI wants him to be part of the England tour and is trying to convince him not to make the big decision ahead of the England Tests, as the selectors want his experience on the big tour.
The reports also suggest that Kohli also asked the selectors to become the stop-gap captain as Mr Fix It after India's 3-1 Test series loss in Australia. He offered to groom a young cricketer for the big role. But the BCCI has turned down his offer as head coach, Gautam Gambhir wants a youngster like Shubman to take over the charge, as he doesn't want any stopgap solution.
The 36-year-old led India to great heights in red-ball cricket, helped the Asian giants dominate in overseas conditions. He relinquished his Test captaincy in 2022 and finished as the most successful Test captain in Indian cricket history. In the 68 Tests Kohli led, India won 40 out of them with a winning percentage of 58.82.
Virat Kohli struggled in Tests vs AUS
Meanwhile, Kohli has been struggling with form in red-ball cricket as he had a tough time in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour to Australia in November-January, where he made just 190 runs in nine innings at an average of 23.75. He scored a century in the opening Test but everything went downhill for him after that as the Aussie pacers exploited his weakness outside off stump.
When India last toured England for a Test series in 2021, Kohli made 249 runs in five matches at an average of 27.66, with two fifties in nine innings. Despite his recent slump in red-ball cricket, the Indian team will need his experience for the big tour as Rohit Sharma also retired from the format recently, and they don't have much experience in the batting line-up/
