R Ashwin wades into Shubman Gill vice-captaincy debate: '…can lean on people like Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah'

The decision to make Shubman Gill vice-captain of the Indian team for the Champions Trophy was met with some backlash from fans and experts.

The decision to make Shubman Gill the vice-captain of the Indian team for their upcoming ODI series against England and the subsequent ICC Champions Trophy was met with some backlash from fans and experts. The recently-retired Ravichandran Ashwin has said that the appointment made sense as Gill seems to be the only player who is sure to play almost every match.

Ashwin said that the decision to make Gill vice-captain has been taken with the future in mind(BCCI)

“I don't want to go into whether the decision is right or wrong but the point that was taken was right. He was the vice-captain in the last series and he has also been given the post sometimes in Test matches as well, although I could be wrong there,” said Ashwin on his Youtube channel ‘Ash ki Baat’.

‘The player who is 100 per cent going to be there in the eleven has been made the vice-captain’

Most of the consternation around the decision was based on Gill's recent poor showing in the five-match Test series in Australia. However, the fact also remains that Gill enjoyed significant success in ODIs, averaging 58.20 in 47 innings with six centuries. In Test cricket itself, Gill averaged 43.30 in 2024, which was the first year in which he was given a continuous run in the top order.

Ashwin said that the decision to make him vice-captain has been taken with the future in mind. "This is a very futuristic call. They are looking at who could be the leader in the future. Now you said Axar Patel is vice-captain in T20s. (But) there can be a competition between Axar Patel and Jadeja for the same spot. Between Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul, the latter is the incumbency keeper. Rishabh and KL could both play together as well. But the player who is 100 per cent going to be there in the eleven has been made the vice-captain.

“The stability is good at the moment and if for some reason Shubman has to captain in the future, then he can lean on people like Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah - there are many people,” said Ashwin.