Revealed: How Shubman Gill beat Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul to become India's multi-format vice-captain?

The selectors and team management's decision to appoint Shubman Gill as the vice-captain in both the white-ball formats has raised several eyebrows. The BCCI announced the squad for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka on Thursday (July 18) and confirmed that Shubman Gill would be the vice-captain of the T20I and the ODI team.

While the right-handed batsman has done well in ODIs so far, his performance in T20Is has left a lot to be desired. He could not even find a place in India's squad for the T20 World Cup last month as the selectors picked Yashasvi Jaiswal as Rohit Sharma's opening partner.

Unsurprisingly, not many were expecting him to be named the vice-captain of the white-ball teams ahead of the likes of Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, and even Rishabh Pant. While Pandya was not named as the captain of the T20I side, he was expected to retain his spot as the vice-captain.

Pandya was also the vice-captain of the ODI team during the World Cup last year. On the other hand, KL Rahul led the ODI team during the three-match series against South Africa in December last year in the absence of Rohit and Pandya.

Here's why Shubman Gill was made the vice-captain:

However, the selectors and the team management decided to spring a big surprise by snubbing the likes of Pandya, Pant, and Rahul and named Shubman Gill as Rohit and Suryakumar Yadav's deputy in the ODI and the T20I team respectively.

The selectors or the head coach are yet to reveal the reason behind the decision so far. However, journalist Vimal Kumar, who is known for his proximity with some of the big names in the Indian team, has explained the reason behind Gill getting the nod ahead of other players.

In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Kumar said that the first reason is that chief selector Ajit Agarkar and coach Gambhir see Gill as an all-format player. The management believes that Gill can become the next big thing in Indian cricket if the right investment is made in him.

"The main reason for Shubman Gill being appointed as vice-captain is that Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir see him as an all-format player," said Vimal Kumar.

"Shubman Gill has not yet justified his talent, he has done it in ODIs but he is still trying to cement his place in T20s. He performed well in Test matches in England. The selectors and the coach believe that if they invest in Shubman Gill like it was done in the case of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, he can become the next big batsman," he added.

Speaking further, Kumar said that the BCCI is in no hurry to make Gill the captain soon but wanted him to learn captaincy. That is why he was made the vice-captain. Kumar also said that, unlike Pant and Rahul, who have wicketkeeping duties, Gill does not have too many things on his plate.

"Another reason for making him vice-captain is for him to learn, as there is currently no rush to make him the captain. Shubman Gill can serve as the deputy to Suryakumar Yadav for the next two years. If needed, he can even take on the captaincy.

"In the ODI team, he can also be groomed alongside Rohit Sharma. Shubman Gill is not an allrounder and only has the responsibility of being a top-order batsman, unlike KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant, who have additional responsibilities," said Kumar.