Shubman Gill and Ashish Nehra. (Source – Twitter/X)
Last week, India announced their squad for their upcoming tour of Sri Lanka. The Men in Blue are set to play three T20Is and as many ODIs against the Lankan Lions. One of the most interesting calls from the BCCI was the appointment of Shubman Gill as the vice-captain in the two squads.
The Punjab batter replaced Hardik Pandya as India’s vice-captain in the shortest format of the game. Meanwhile, in the ODI setup, he was named the vice-captain ahead of experienced players like KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, and Rishabh Pant. Gill recently led India to a 4-1 T20I series win in Zimbabwe, his first assignment as the captain of the national team.
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Ashish Nehra, who worked closely with Gill during this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Gujarat Titans (GT), welcomed BCCI’s move to appoint the 24-year-old to the prestigious position. The former India pacer asserted that the GT captain will keep on improving and lauded his willingness to learn.
“They have made Shubman Gill in not just one format, but in all three formats. That means you are looking ahead,” Nehra told India Today’s sister channel SportsTak.
“Shubman Gill is a work in progress. He is 24-25 years old now. He will get better as we go ahead. He has the desire to play all 3 formats, he has the heart to learn. He is not someone who thinks that whatever he is doing is right. He is not that kind of guy. Be it a youngster or an experienced player, he likes to have a discussion and learn,” he said.
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India’s tour of Sri Lanka begins with the T20I series in Pallekele. All three games will be played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. The three matches will be played on July 27, 28, and 30. Meanwhile, the ODI matches will be hosted in the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on August 2, 4, and 7, respectively.