Former Indian batter Manoj Tiwary reckons Shubman Gill is still learning the trade of captaincy after India won the ODI series against Afghanistan by 3-0. This is Gill’s first series win as an ODI captain after India lost series against Australia and New Zealand under his leadership.
Gill was able to lead from the front against the Afghans, returning with scores of 84* and 154 in the first two games. Thus, he was awarded Player of the Series for his consistent performances.
Recently, Gill also led Gujarat Titans to the IPL 2026 final, scoring 732 runs in 16 matches, but they could not cross the final hurdle against RCB.
“This series went well for him as captain. The more series he captains, the better he will get. He is not a ‘born leader’ yet, but he will learn. Everything comes naturally to a born leader, and then there is someone like Shubman Gill who learns with time, and that is why it is important for Rohit and Virat, and even KL to stay in the team and advise him. The mistakes that they made during their captaincy, they will not let him repeat it,” Manoj Tiwary said on Cricbuzz.
“Also, when you have so many good players, the pressure of captaincy reduces a bit. When you have the number one pacer and spinner,you just have to bring them on, and they will do their job. So, this is the luxury you have in Team India, because we have top, top players. Bring any bowler at any point of time, they will deliver,” he added.
Gill, on the other hand, admitted they were able to tick a lot of boxes in the ODI series against Afghanistan.
“A lot of them definitely. I think a lot of the boxes are ticked. We spoke about keeping the intensity in the middle overs and some of the things that we also spoke about was how can we keep creating those opportunities in the middle overs as a bowling unit and as a batting unit, how can we keep pushing for the extra runs in the middle overs. And I think a lot of those boxes were ticked,” the skipper said during the post-match presentation.
India’s next ODI assignment is the three-match series against England.
