Shubman Gill accused of being “complacent” as all-format captaincy dreams shatter: 'He’s not Virat Kohli'

Former English cricketer has discredited Shubman Gill from the captainship glory and has claimed him to be complacent and not yet ready to handle three-format captaincy. He has also made a vile remark comparing him to the standards of former Indian skipper Virat Kohli.

Indian youngster and one of the most promising players of modern-day Indian cricket, Shubman Gill, has often been cited as the future of Indian cricket. The right-handed batter has been named the captain of the Test and ODI team, and is next in line for the T20I captaincy.

However, the former England spinner has a completely variant take on handing over the captaincy to Gill across all three formats. The opinion is raw and factual, which might put pressure on the Indian selectors to reconsider their decision.

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"Shubman Gill is too complacent a cricketer" - Monty Panesar

Recently, during a conversation with the ANI, former England spinner Monty Panesar, who has his ancestral roots in India, made a handful of remarks on the 'prince' of Indian cricket, Shubman Gill.

The most pricking remark seemed to be his criticism of Gill's personality, as he pointed out that the Indian captain is too complacent and hence is not ideal to meet the demands of captaincy across all three formats. Panesar observed that Gill played lazy shots at crucial moments, and he does not have the same intensity as one of India's greatest Test captains, Virat Kohli.

"He is a complacent cricketer. He has a lot of talent, but he starts playing lazy shots in the game. Virat Kohli's intensity and aggression are evident in all formats. Shubhman Gill can't do that. Too much burden for him. He can't be the captain of all formats. It is too much for him," Panesar told ANI.

Panersar asks Gambhir to learn from Ranji Trophy coaches to improve red-ball blunders

After slamming Shubman Gill for his complacent nature, Panesar turned the guns towards the Indian head coach, Gautam Gambhir. Gambhir has been significantly successful in limited-overs cricket, also winning an ICC title within 6 months of his appointment, but has failed to keep up with the hype in the longest format of the game.

Under Gambhir's reign, one of the best Test teams in the world has faced two crushing whitewashes at home, first 3-0 to New Zealand in 2024 and then 2-0 to South Africa in 2025. Panesar feels Gambhir still needs experience in red-ball coaching and should consult the coaches of Ranji teams.

"He should talk to the coaches who have coached in the Ranji Trophy about how you build a team in red-ball cricket. Right now, the Indian team is weak in Test cricket. This is the reality. It's not that strong. It will take time. When you retire three big players, it becomes difficult to keep the remaining players ready," the former England cricketer said.

Shubman Gill will be back as India's captain against New Zealand

After having missed out on the second Test and the entire stretch of the ODI series against South Africa, Indian captain Shubman Gill, who has now recovered from his neck injury, will be back leading the side.

Before going into the New Zealand ODI series, which begins on the 11th of January, Gill is likely to feature for Punjab in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He will pair alongside the likes of Abhishek Sharma on his return to Punjab.

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