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Ravichandran Ashwin was amazed to see the growth of Shubman Gill not only as a batter, but as a batter with the burden of leadership on his shoulders. During a recent conversation, the former Indian spinner explained how Gill has developed himself as an undisputed force in the Indian cricket team.
Gill displayed another masterclass for the India National Cricket Team in the previously played ODI match against the West Indies national cricket team at the Greenfield Stadium on September 27. He scored a century, his 5th in his ODI career, to secure a crucial win against the West Indies cricket team.
Team India defeated West Indies in a well-thought-out way
These ODI matches are important for the Indian cricket team, as they are part of the team's preparations for the 2027 ODI World Cup. The countdown for the flagship event has begun with the ODI series between India and West Indies.
Before taking charge with the bat, Shubman Gill showed his brilliance in captaincy in the first innings, when the openers of West Indies, Justin Greaves and John Campbell, were scoring runs for fun. The first ten overs were completely dominated by those two batters as they founded a hundred-plus-run partnership for the first-wicket stand.
The bowling was not easy for the Indian cricket team as some of their main starters, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel, and Mohammed Siraj, were not with the team. Because of the clash of schedules between the bilateral ODI series and the Asian Games 2026, the Indian team management was forced to select two different sets of players.
Shubman Gill utilised Kuldeep Yadav brilliantly to eliminate West Indies batters
Gill-led Indian cricket team went to play the previous ODI against the Caribbean with very limited resources. For the new-ball bowling, the skipper had to depend on Prasidh Krishna, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Gurnoor Brar. Reddy leaked 17 runs in his first over.
The Indian skipper waited patiently instead of introducing Kuldeep Yadav early in the match. Kuldeep came at the moment when the batters lowered their gears, the ball was old, and the pitch was well used; a suitable condition for spin bowling.
Kuldeep Yadav walked in with the ball and left with 4 wickets in the bag, conceding only 40 runs. He not only took the wickets of Justin Greaves and John Campbell, but also pushed West Indies towards a middle-order collapse.
Ravichandran Ashwin hails Shubman Gill
Ashwin is totally impressed with Gill's captaincy. In the conversation, the former cricketer confessed that he also had some doubts when the board appointed Shubman Gill as the captain. But now, day by day, Gill is getting better and better in Ashwin's eyes.
"His captaincy is also very good. He is getting better every day; I have to compliment him. In my mind, I had doubts about Shubman Gill's captaincy. But there weren't many options in Indian cricket. And Shubman Gill was the most stable and mature person," Ravichandran Ashwin said.
"He got the captaincy. And I am happily and pleasantly surprised by how his captaincy went. He captained the Gujarat Titans. This year, he captained very well. Of course, he had a great bowling attack. But with the Indian team, he is showing that every game is better. Not only as a batter, but as a captain as well. And that is a great quality to have. I have a lot of time for Shubman Gill," he added.
🚨R. Ashwin praised Shubman Gill's captaincy.
— Indian Cricket 🏏 (@Indiancric1cm) September 28, 2026
"When he was appointed captain, I wondered how he would handle the role, but over time, it increasingly seems that his captaincy is becoming excellent.
I am pleasantly surprised by his captaincy." pic.twitter.com/2rSl1grrnw
