'Leadership sits really well with him' - Ricky Ponting opens up on India's Shubman Gill captaincy move
Ricky Ponting felt Jasprit Bumrah was not named India's Test captain due to his injury concerns.
2 Min Read
Former Australia captain and legend Ricky Ponting opened up on Shubman Gill becoming India's new Test captain, following the retirement of Rohit Sharma from the longest format of the game. Ponting gave his thumbs up for the move and understood why many were advocating against it, considering Jasprit Bumrah led the side in Rohit’s absence during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25.
The Australian felt Bumrah's injuries meant he was out of contention for captaincy. Ponting believed choosing Gill as the Indian Test captain was the right decision and hoped for the star player to get a fair run in his new role.
"I actually think it's the right move. I know there are a lot of other people out there, pundits out there saying they can't understand why it wasn't Bumrah and why they have gone to Shubman, but I think it's pretty simple," said Ponting in the ICC Review.
"Bumrah's injuries are holding him back a bit in the last couple of years, and you don't want that with a captain. You can't have a captain coming in and missing games here and there, so I think it's the right decision. Now that they've made it, it's one they've got to stick with and give him a good crack at it for a long period of time," Ponting added.
'I think you'll have a good captain who’ll make a lot of Test runs' – Ponting on Gill's captaincy appointment
The Australian noted Gill's way of handling the Gujarat Titans in the IPL just showed he was captain material. He felt Gill scoring runs in the IPL would help him gain the confidence to score runs in the longest format of the game as well.
"Even just looking back at the way he's handled this current GT (Gujarat Titans) team through this IPL, I think leadership sits really well with him. And the important thing for me with leadership as well is if you're a batter and you're a captain, you have to be scoring runs. And Shubman is doing that in the IPL, and I think the timing is right, and I think you'll have a good captain who’ll make a lot of Test runs going forward," Ponting concluded.
Get every cricket updates! Follow Us:
Download Our App