Both Rahul and Pant were named into the ODI squad, at the expense of Sanju Samson (AFP)
Gill, who captained the Indian side for their T20I series against Zimbabwe that concluded recently, beat the likes of veteran KL Rahul and an in-form Rishabh Pant, to take on the vice-captain role in the ODI format for the first time in his career.
After a prolonged wait, the Indian squads for the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka were finally released by the BCCI, with various new faces and changes having taken place.
One of the biggest talking points that has emerged has been about the vice-captaincy for the ODI side. With the WC-winning Rohit Sharma still in charge, and with the inclusion of former vice-captain KL Rahul back into the side, one expected the wicket-keeper batter to take up his position yet again.
But, in a twist of fate, the BCCI has handed over the captaincy to their swashbuckling opener Shubman Gill.
Gill, who captained the Indian side for their T20I series against Zimbabwe that concluded recently, beat the likes of veteran KL Rahul and an in-form Rishabh Pant, to take on the vice-captain role in the ODI format for the first time in his career, and in the T20Is as well.
This move denotes a shift in the mentality of the BCCI, who have been keen on bringing in fresh faces and newer talent up the ranks, as the likes of talisman superstars such as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli near the last legs of their careers.
With the vice-captaincy aside, a bigger battle that will now take place between both KL Rahul and Pant shall surround one burning question: Who will start over the other? Or if both do, then who shall be allocated with the wicket-keeping duties?
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Rahul, who previously took up the captaincy for India temporarily when India took on South Africa in an ODI series in late 2023, proved his mettle to hold his own with the bat as well, coming back from an injury to once again regain his form in the longer format, taking on the keeping role as well in India’s ODI World Cup campaign as well.
But, all the rage lately has been about a resilient and fiery Rishabh Pant. After recovering from his near-death accident that left Pant out of cricketing action for more than a year, the swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batter made his mark yet again with an impressive outing in the IPL 2024 with Delhi Capitals, which inadvertently led to him being called up for the 2024 T20 World Cup, where India triumphed to bring home the grand prize.
For newly-appointed Gautam Gambhir, it proves to be a favourable problem of many, with the new coach being armed with both impressive options to choose from.
One name though that has suffered from the heated battle between the two has been Sanju Samson.
In his last ODI which was against South Africa at Paarl, Samson managed to score a breathtaking century which allowed the Indian team to post a defendable score of 296.
But he continued to showcase his class even in the Indian Premier League where in IPL 2024 he managed to set his best-ever season tally with 531 runs as he led the Rajasthan Royals to the IPL 2024 playoffs.
But still, it proved to be not enough to warrant an extended run for the batter, which has been the story for most of his career as Gambhir will likely look to hand over opportunities to younger players in hopes of building a side for the longer run.
