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Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin has hailed the stunning rise of Shubman Gill. He feels that Shubman Gill has done an excellent job as captain and has also improved a lot as a batter while handling the leadership responsibility.
Gill has now become one of the key players in the India National Cricket Team, and he has impressed everyone with his leadership and performances in Test and ODI cricket. Azharuddin believes that Gill has shown great maturity at a young age and is managing the pressure of captaincy really well.
Mohammad Azharuddin questions Shubman Gill's T20I snub
Mohammad Azharuddin feels Shubman Gill is among the finest batters India has right now. However, the former Indian skipper was surprised that the right-hander is not part of India’s T20I plans.
The Punjab lad previously served as India’s vice-captain in T20Is, but he was dropped ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 because of his ordinary performances with the bat.
However, Azharuddin believes that Shubman Gill has the talent and ability to play all three formats and should be considered an all-format player for India.
Mohammed Azharuddin was quoted as saying by PTI: “I think Gill is handling the captaincy job very well. His individual performance has also improved significantly. He is a fantastic player... one of the finest we have right now. Honestly, I don't know why they don't pick him for T20s. He is an all-format player and should never have been dropped from any format.”
Azharuddin warns against giving Gill all-format captaincy
However, Azharuddin does not want Shubman Gill to become an all-format captain for India because this could put too much pressure on the youngster. He stressed that keeping India’s Test and ODI captain away from that T20I role will help him focus better on the longer formats.
The former HCA president explained, “No, I think that would put too much pressure on him. T20 is a totally different, fast-paced game that gets over in a few hours. If you relieve him of that burden, it helps. He should remain the captain for Tests and ODIs, but we can have a different captain for T20s.”
Mohammad Azharuddin backs Shreyas Iyer as India's new T20I captain
Meanwhile, the former Indian captain also hailed Shreyas Iyer’s appointment as the T20I captain. He has pointed out that Iyer has earned the opportunity through his performances and has the cricket knowledge and understanding needed to become a successful captain in the future.
Azharuddin further said, “He has performed well and has gotten a chance deservedly. He can become a good captain. He has got a very good cricketing brain, and I am sure with time he will become a very good player (as well).”
Interestingly, Azharuddin supported the national selectors' decision to move on from Suryakumar Yadav who is set to reunite with Gautam Gambhir both as captain and batter after a series of poor performances, saying international cricket is all about current performances and consistency.
He signed off by saying, “You have to perform consistently because performances count a lot. A lot of young players are coming up nowadays, and you can’t rely on past performances. You have to keep performing every time.”
