R Ashwin Expresses Opinion on Shubman Gill's Vice-Captaincy Candidacy: 'He Can Rely on Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah for Support'

Ashwin mentioned on his Youtube channel ‘Ash ki Baat’ that he didn't want to delve into the discussion of whether the decision was right or wrong. However, he acknowledged that the decision made was indeed correct. Ashwin pointed out that the player in question had previously served as the vice-captain in the last series and had also been given the responsibility in Test matches on occasion. Though he admitted there could be room for error in his statement.

‘The player who is 100 per cent going to be there in the eleven has been made the vice-captain’

Most of the consternation around the decision was based on Gill's recent poor showing in the five-match Test series in Australia. However, the fact also remains that Gill enjoyed significant success in ODIs, averaging 58.20 in 47 innings with six centuries. In Test cricket itself, Gill averaged 43.30 in 2024, which was the first year in which he was given a continuous run in the top order.

Ashwin said that the decision to make him vice-captain has been taken with the future in mind. "This is a very futuristic call. They are looking at who could be the leader in the future. Now you said Axar Patel is vice-captain in T20s. (But) there can be a competition between Axar Patel and Jadeja for the same spot. Between Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul, the latter is the incumbency keeper. Rishabh and KL could both play together as well. But the player who is 100 per cent going to be there in the eleven has been made the vice-captain.

“The stability is good at the moment and if for some reason Shubman has to captain in the future, then he can lean on people like Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah - there are many people,” said Ashwin.

Stay informed with the latest updates on live cricket score, cricket players, match schedules and ICC rankings. Keep an eye on your favourite cricket team, including the stellar performances of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Check out the cricket schedule, WTC 2025 Points Table track team standings and dive into player stats and rankings on Crickit powered by Hindustan Times website and app. .freemium-card h4{color:#fff; padding-bottom:20px;} .freemium-card .freemium-content .subcTxt{padding-bottom:16px; color:#fff;} .freemium-card .freemium-content{width: auto; max-width: inherit;} .freemium-card .freemium-content .subcTxt{max-width:inherit; font-size:18px; padding-top:0; line-height:24px} .freemium-card .btnSubc{margin} .freemium-card .btnSubc a{background:#000; color:#fff; min-width:auto; padding:5px 15px; border-radius:6px; font-size:16px; line-height:22px; font-weight:700;} .freemium-card{height:285px} @media (max-width: 767px) { .freemium-card h4{font-size:28px} .freemium-card .freemium-content{max-width:360px; padding: 20px;} .freemium-card{height:303px; background-position: 100% 0; } }