"When he takes retirement, this guy will be the perfect choice to lead India"- Virender Sehwag announces Rohit Sharma's replacement

Former India opener Virender Sehwag has backed young batter Shubman Gill to be India's captain after Rohit Sharma retires from international cricket. Gill has been appointed as India's captain for the tour of Zimbabwe, where a second-string team will play 5 T20Is against the home team.

This will be Shubman Gill's first assignment as India's captain and is likely to be a huge occasion for the youngster. The 24-year-old has already had a terrific start to his international career with the bat.

Although he has yet to prove his credentials in red-ball cricket, Gill has been exceptional in white-ball cricket, especially in ODIs. In ODI cricket, he scored 2271 in 41 matches at an average of 61.37 and a strike rate of 103.46. It remains to be seen how he fares in the leadership role.

Also read: Zimbabwe Head Coach instigates Shubman Gill; reminds him of benching experience

Virender Sehwag backs Shubman Gill to be India's future captain

During a discussion on Cricbuzz, Virender Sehwag backed the selectors' decision to choose Shubman Gill as the captain for the Zimbabwe tour. Sehwag also mentioned that Shubman Gill can be India's next captain after Rohit Sharma retires from ODIs and Tests.

"I think Shubman Gill will play all the formats for India in the future. He had a brilliant year in 2023 in Tests, ODIs and T20Is. He was unlucky not to be a part of the T20 World Cup 2024-winning squad. But I think it's the right decision because when Rohit Sharma will take retirement from Tests and ODIs, Shubman Gill seems to be the right choice for the captaincy. So, I think the selectors have chosen the right captain in the form of Shubman Gill," Sehwag stated.

Shubman Gill is Gujarat Titans captain in IPL

Shubman Gill was chosen as Gujarat Titans captain before the IPL 2024 season after Hardik Pandya parted ways with the franchise and went to Mumbai Indians. Under his leadership, the Gujarat Titans finished a disappointing season as they finished eighth in the tournament. This was the first time in their history that Gujarat Titans failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Gill had an outstanding season in IPL 2023 with the bat where he amassed 890 runs in 17 matches at an average of 59.33 and a strike rate of 157.80. The youngster smashed three hundred and four fifties during the season and finished as the highest run-getter of the season.

In IPL 2024 though, he wasn't at his best throughout the tournament but still managed to score a decent amount of runs. Gill scored 426 runs in 12 matches at an average of 38.72 and a strike rate of 147.40, which also included a century.

Talking about his credentials in the longest format of the game, Shubman Gill had a difficult start to his Test career. But in India's recent Test series against England played earlier this year, he scored crucial runs and helped India claim a series win while batting at No. 3. The 24-year-old has scored 1492 runs in 25 Tests at an average of 35.52.