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After Rishabh Pant was sacked from the role of vice-captain, many have claimed that Shubman Gill has conspired to snub Pant from the role to clear his path forward as the captain of the side. The conspiracy theories escalated after Pant's sister liked a reel that mentioned the politics around Pant and Gill.
Recently, the Indian selectors announced the Indian squad for the upcoming series against Afghanistan. It will include two upcoming series, a one-off Test and a three-match ODI series between India and Afghanistan.
They have announced Shubman Gill as the skipper of the side, while Rishabh Pant has also been named in the Test squad. However, KL Rahul has been handed the vice-captaincy in the longest format of the game, replacing former VC Rishabh Pant.
Conspiracy theories surround Shubman Gill over Rishabh Pant's sacking as India's vice-captain.
Conspiracy theories have been built around Shubman Gill's actions. Many have considered that Gill will be appointed the skipper of the side for a longer period, as someone like Rishabh Pant's appointment as the vice-captain often builds a massive concern for the team management or the selectors, keeping a possibility of a switch.
Shubman Gill's run as the skipper of the Indian team has been formidable, as they tied a series against England after Gill was appointed to the role of India's red-ball skipper. Both Gill and Pant were among the highest-scoring cricketers for India in that series.
He then led India to their only series triumph in this WTC against the West Indies at home. However, he was ruled out of the series against the South Africans following a freak injury, and Rishabh Pant had led India unsuccessfully during that span.
The South Africa whitewash might have led to Rishabh Pant's sacking as India's red-ball vice-captain.
While some have considered that Gill might have surely opted to snub Rishabh Pant from the race for India captaincy, in the opinion of true cricket enthusiasts, it seems that he has been sidelined due to his poor captaincy in IPL 2026.
Pant has not been able to prove his merit as the skipper of any side he has captained so far in the competition. While Rishabh Pant was assigned the task to lead the Indian team in Gill's absence, the Indian side lost a home series to South Africa after almost two decades and is now doubtful to retain a place in the race for the WTC final 2027.
India, hence, needs someone who has leadership qualities and can lead well in Gill's absence, like KL Rahul, who had led India to an ODI series triumph during the same series against South Africa.
Rishabh Pant's sister's impulsive actions lead to large-scale consequences.
In recent times, with the growing influence of social media, the cricketers' personal lives and their families have also had a role to play in the modern-day dynamics of the game. Previously, an incident on social media involving Shreyas Iyer's sister had gained widespread attention as well as criticism.
This time, the conspiracy theories involving Shubman Gill escalated when Rishabh Pant's sister liked a reel that mentioned that Gill had conspired against the Indian wicketkeeper. The BCCI cannot resort to any measures for anyone's actions on social media; hence, it seems like an unwanted social media gimmick.
Here's the reel she liked:
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