Latest news with #TestCaptaincy
Times of Oman
a day ago
- Sport
- Times of Oman
After series defeat in Sri Lanka, Najmul Hossain Shanto steps down as Bangladesh Test skipper
Colombo: Najmul Hossain Shanto announced his decision to step down as Bangladesh Test captain after his side endured a 1-0 series defeat against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Saturday. After the opening Test ended in a draw, Bangladesh arrived in Colombo looking to add crucial points in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle. Compared to the series opener, Bangladesh batters failed to put up a robust performance and surrendered an emphatic defeat by an innings and 78 runs. In the aftermath of Bangladesh's heartbreaking defeat, Shanto decided to step down from the Test captaincy role and said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo, "I don't want to continue [as captain] in the Test format anymore. This is not personal. I have taken the decision for the betterment of the team. I think this will help the team. I have been a part of the dressing room for the past few years. "I think three captains [for the three international formats] is not sensible. I don't know what the board will feel about this, and I will support their decision. But this is my personal decision. I think three separate captains will be difficult for the team to deal with. I would want that no one feels this decision is emotional, or that I am disappointed by something. I want to make this clear. This is for the betterment of the team," he added. Shanto tried to explain that his decision wasn't personal, considering the timing of it. Earlier this year, he stepped down as T20I captain. Before Bangladesh's departure, Shanto expressed his interest in continuing with the ODI leadership role. However, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) sacked him from his role and replaced him with Mehidy Hasan Miraz. "I just hope people don't see this as a personal issue or think I did this because I felt bad about the ODI captaincy snub. I want to make it clear again: this is for the betterment of the team. There is nothing personal here. I already informed the cricket operations department a few days back," he said. With Shanto at the helm, Bangladesh won four out of 14 Tests, which began with a victory over New Zealand in Sylhet in November 2023. The Tigers topped it up with a historic series whitewash in Pakistan in August last year. He became the first Bangladesh captain to hammer twin centuries in a Test in Sri Lanka and averaged 36.24 during his stint. Bangladesh will have time to identify the new Test captain as their next red-ball assignment will be against Ireland in October. As of now, Litton Das leads the T20I side, while Mehidy is the skipper of the ODI team.
BBC News
16-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
How does new captain Gill compare to India batting greats?
Shubman Gill is not short on 'Prince' by India cricket supporters, he is regarded as the next big thing to follow the 'Little Master' Sachin Tendulkar and 'King' Virat prince is now a ruler, though, with the fresh-faced batter taking over the Test captaincy reins from Rohit Sharma for this summer's tour of fact Gill has leaned into the 'Prince' moniker by having it inscribed on his bat - to the annoyance of some fans - underlines the unwavering belief in his is Gill as good as those who came before him? Is he a smart choice as captain? And how can England get the better of him this summer? How does Gill compare? Let's start with the most impressive of all Gill stats: he has the second-best one-day international batting average of all time (59), sandwiched between the Netherlands' Ryan ten Doeschate (67), who is on the India coaching staff for this tour, and Kohli (58) it's unfair to draw comparisons in Test cricket just yet, but there's no denying 25-year-old Gill is following in a rich lineage of Indian cricket batting this is where he doesn't quite live up to his lofty billing. His Test batting average of 35 lags behind Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rohit Sharma and Kohli at the same stage of their fact, it's significantly behind Dravid and Tendulkar, who were both averaging the widely accepted world-class mark of 50 by their 32nd while Tendulkar - the most prolific international batter of all time -, external was just 16 when he made his Test debut, Gill was younger than both Kohli and Dravid when given his chance in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG in signs were good for Gill when he averaged almost 52 in three Tests in Australia as India lifted the Border-Gavaskar in form and an injury in England in the summer of 2021 followed, but Gill's trajectory was heading only one first Test century came in Bangladesh in 2022, before a career-best 128 against Australia in Ahmedabad in 2023 preceded two centuries against England on their tour of India in early 2024."There was a phase where I got 40s or 50s," said Gill, speaking in 2023. "So I felt that I was being overly defensive after getting set. That isn't my game. When I get set, I catch my rhythm."I'd rather accept being dismissed while going for a shot. It wasn't acceptable to me that I got out while trying to adapt to a style which didn't come naturally to me. All of my dismissals in this period were off defensive shots."So has Gill been more positive in recent years?Yes: in short, he's playing more attacking shots and leaving the ball less. Can Gill conquer England? Kohli, in particular, was desperate to do well in England after previous failures and Gill will surely be no he has played three Tests in England against three different happened by virtue of appearing in India's two World Test Championship final appearances against New Zealand and Australia, plus one Test against England in 2022.A top score of 28 in six innings will surely be improved upon this summer, but England will be more than aware that four of Gill's dismissals in the UK have been either caught behind by the keeper or in the slip is interesting about Gill is how significantly better he is against spin (averaging 42) compared to pace (31).Despite this, however, he is not a prolific sweeper. When he does use that shot he strikes at 212 per 100 loves to latch on to anything short, striking at 190 on the pull shot which has brought him 29 fours and three sixes in Test cricket for the price of just one shot which has brought him the most runs is the drive, but his strength is also a weakness, with that accounting for five typical of any opener, some 21 of his dismissals in Test cricket have come playing a forward defensive shot. This is another reason why England will be packing the slip cordon with the new he averages 40 against fast bowling of 87mph upwards and 22 against the slower seam retired James Anderson has got him out more than anyone else in Test cricket, while Gill has also struggled against Australia's Scott Chris Woakes be England's man to make the opposition captain his bunny this summer? What about his captaincy? Gill has some leadership experience, having captained India in five T20 internationals and taking charge of Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier finished third in the 2025 IPL, having been eighth the year before - Gill's first in charge. He has a win percentage of 52%, which is nothing spectacular compared to Hardik Pandya's 71% in more games in charge of the great Ricky Ponting believes "leadership sits really well" with Gill, while the player himself says he is embracing the his desire to be more positive with the bat sounds very similar to the mantra within the England camp - Gill played under England head coach Brendon McCullum in the IPL - so is his leadership philosophy."What I like is communication with the players, making the players feel secure, talking to them, giving them comfort around their weaknesses and strengths," Gill said when unveiled as skipper."If you are a captain of any team or a leader of any team, if your players feel very secure, only then they can give their 100%."What is for sure is that he will be more Kohli than Rohit in the one to take a backward step, Gill sledged James Anderson and Jonny Bairstow in a Test in India, while umpires have felt his presence when in charge at the 'Prince' may have chiselled, film star-like good looks, but he will be prepared to fight if the crown slips.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
India's new Test captain Gill falls cheaply in IPL
Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill fell for just 13 runs on Sunday in his first Indian Premier League outing after being named captain of the Indian Test team. The 25-year-old was named as Rohit Sharma's successor on Saturday, when the selectors announced the team for the five-Test series in England beginning on June 20. "Feels exciting to be able to have that (Test captaincy) kind of a challenge, it's going to be a really exciting series for us," Gill said at the toss against Chennai Super Kings, his team's last league match. Gujarat has already made the playoffs of the T20 tournament and are chasing 231 at the world's biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad, the venue for the June 3 final. With the spotlight on the newly crowned Test leader, Gill hit a four and a six in his nine-ball stay before being caught at slip off medium-pace bowler Anshul Kamboj. Gill will lead a Test team still coming to terms with the shock retirements of Rohit and Virat Kohli after the two stalwarts walked away from the longer format within six days of each other this month. fk/pjm/pbt
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Shubman Gill: Young 'Prince' leading India's post-Rohit, Kohli era
Shubman Gill, long Indian cricket's "Prince" in waiting, has been entrusted with leading a new era after the Test retirements of greats Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The 25-year-old Gill was identified in 2020 as a batting successor to Kohli after impressing on his Test debut in Melbourne, where he opened and made 45 and an unbeaten 35 as India beat Australia by eight wickets. Gifted with a wide variety of shots at the top of the order, it has been Gill's inspiring leadership of Gujarat Titans that clinched his elevation to the Test captaincy to succeed Rohit. Gill played a captain's knock of 93 this week to secure a place in the playoffs for Gujarat, who were IPL champions in their 2022 debut season. "I have talked about this a couple of times, when I'm batting, I want to play and think as a batsman, not as a captain. At the back end last season I learnt that," said Gill, who is in his second season leading Gujarat. Gill, who has scored 636 runs at an average of 57.81 to lie second on the IPL batting charts, has led from the front and been dubbed "Prince" by pundits in the cricket-obsessed country. "Let Shubman Gill remain Shubman Gill instead of calling him a 'Prince'," said former India wicketkeeper and Gujarat assistant coach Parthiv Patel. "You gave him this name from the commentary box. He is leading from the front and makes his presence felt in the dressing room. "He doesn't talk much, but his words carry a lot of weight." Rohit and batting great Kohli's departures paved the way for Gill to lead a young India squad for five Tests in England beginning on June 20. Other candidates included Jasprit Bumrah, who was Rohit's deputy in Australia this year, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul. - Competitive instinct - Gill got the nod but he has big boots to fill. Rohit won 12 of his 24 Tests as skipper and his predecessor Kohli was India's most successful Test captain with 40 wins from 68 matches in charge. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar had already identified Gill's leadership credentials and competitive instinct ahead of his appointment, and he urged fans to give him time. "It would take a couple of years to get to the level of our 'super captains'," said Gavaskar. "All of them brought something unique to the table. "When you look at Gill, Iyer, and Pant... you can see a mix of different qualities. "Gill seems the most competitive. When there's a close call, he's quick to question the umpire. He's very involved in the game." In 2023, Gill scored a Twenty20 hundred to become the fifth Indian batsman -- including Kohli and Rohit -- to record centuries across all three formats. Gill, who hails from a family of farmers in the northern state of Punjab, said he owed much of his success to his father. "I think the way I practise and the way my dad made me practise... 90 percent of the credit should go to him because it was his vision," said Gill. Gill has played 32 Tests, scoring 1,893 runs at an average of 35.05 with five hundreds. But there are question marks over his record outside India. In his 13 overseas Tests, Gill's average is only 29.50. fk/pjm/dh/pbt
