Former Indian cricket team batter Sanjay Manjrekar believes that Shubman Gill was better suited and have stronger credentials than Shreyas Iyer to become the T20I captain.
Shreyas replaced Suryakumar Yadav in the leadership role ahead of the T20I series against Ireland and England while Gill did not even find a place in the squads. Manjrekar pointed out that although Gill would have been the better long-term captaincy choice, he most probably missed out because of the difficulty to fit him in the playing XI. However, he also praised Iyer’s journey to become the India T20I captain.
“Shreyas Iyer is a very interesting choice. He wasn’t able to get a place in the T20 squad for the last few months. But now, straightaway, India’s T20 captain. When you pick a player or make him the captain or vice-captain, you’ve got to also make sure that that player fits into the squad and has got a confirmed place in the squad and that is where I think Shubman Gill has missed out because I think Gill has better credentials than Shreyas Iyer to be India’s long-term T20 captain,” Manjrekar said on Sony Sports Network.
“T20s will now be played away from India and eventually the World Cup will be in Australia and New Zealand. I believe Gill was better suited to take that responsibility,” he added.
Manjrekar went on to say that it was the batting position of Gill which ultimately proved to be the problem for him when it comes to his selection for the T20Is. Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson have already established themselves as the go-to opening pair for India and the inclusion of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has made it even more crowded.
“They’ve gone for a captain who they could fit in the playing XI. Because Gill is an opening batter, he lost out on that opportunity or that appointment, but his time is not too far,” Manjrekar said.