'Shubman Gill Was Third-Best Option': Virender Sehwag Wanted 27-Year-Old Star To Become New India Test Captain

India have named their squad for the five-match Test Series against England beginning from June 20. This is the first series that the team will be playing after the Test retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Shubman Gill has been named as the new skipper of India in the longest format of the game. Now, legendary India batter Virender Sehwag as said that Gill should have been the third choice as captain,

In an interaction with Cricbuzz, Sehwag said that Jasprit Bumrah is the first choice, but if he cannot play all Test matches for India in a year, then the team management has made a wise choice not to select him as the captain. He said that Rishabh Pant should have been the second choice and not Shubman Gill.

“For a series, Bumrah is okay. But as a long-term option, you need to ask if India plays 10 Tests in a year, will he be able to play all those matches? Or, how many matches can he play? That is a major factor in picking a captain. So that I feel was the right decision, because they felt they could not put that pressure and load on Bumrah. (Manoj) Tiwary said Gill is the second-best, but I feel that is Rishabh Pant, and Gill is the third-best,” Sehwag said

Virender Sehwag stated that after Virat Kohli, it is Rishabh Pant who has compelled fans to watch Test Cricket. He was picked as the vice-captain because of his fatal accident that compelled him to miss more than a year of action. The team management wants to see if he bounces back to form, and then they might think about appointing him as the captain in the future.

"What Pant did for Test cricket, no other player has done. After Virat Kohli, if there is one player who has compelled fans into watching Test cricket, it's Pant. But because he had that accident, got injured and then came back, he did not have that much of an impact, and hence he was made the vice-captain, thinking that if he can bounce back to form, they can take that decision of making him the captain in the future," the former India star added.

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