Shubman Gill (AP Photo/James Elsby) Shubman Gill’s recent performance as India’s ODI captain in Australia has faced scrutiny following a 1-2 series loss where he managed just 43 runs in three matches. The 26-year-old opener, who leads across formats and has been playing continuous cricket since September 2024, has seen a dip in white-ball cricket this year despite his successful Test captaincy in England where he scored over 750 runs with four hundreds.Gill’s struggles in limited-overs cricket have become apparent, especially in his recent performances. During the Asia Cup last month, where he served as vice-captain, he scored just 127 runs in seven matches at an average of 21.16. He posted modest scores of 10, 9 and 24 in the Australian ODI series.
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Former cricket pundits attribute Gill’s current form to his extensive workload and the pressures of captaincy. Since September, he has the Asia Cup, West Indies Tests and the upcoming five-match T20I series against Australia with just a month’s break in August.“He has played a lot of matches recently. He has to open the bat and also captain the team in different formats,” Mohammed Kaif said while talking about Gill’s situation. “Then there is also the IPL captaincy. With the auction coming up, the Gujarat Titans will be asked to plan. He has a lot on his plate at once and it seemed to affect his batting a bit. He looked mentally tired.”Krishnamachari Srikkanth pointed out other factors affecting Gill’s performance. “He’s probably also putting pressure on himself after the England performance. He shouldn’t do that and just play his game. He played really well today but he just got a great delivery from Hazlewood. Shubman Gill got more than just getting out, it was a strum.The pressure to replace Rohit Sharma as captain while still being by his side has also been noted as a contributing factor to Gill’s current form. Elaborating on this aspect, Srikkanth said, “But he seems to be under pressure, just watching his body language as he has replaced Rohit Sharma as captain and at the same time he has opened up in his side.”The presence of Yashasvi Jaiswal in the team added another dimension to the situation. “And on the other hand, everyone is asking why Yashasvi Jaiswal is not playing. It all adds to the pressure on him. But he will overcome it because he is a fantastic player. He should play his normal game because he is taking the steps and shots right. He is just getting out, that’s the only thing. So once he plays some big shots at home against South Africa,” added Skan’ beth again at home against South Africa.Gill’s schedule continues to be tough as he is set to take part in the T20I series against Australia before taking on South Africa in the upcoming matches. His performance in these series will be crucial both for his personal form and his role as captain across formats.
