Shubman Gill’s ODI captaincy debut under fire — Australia World Cup winner predicts India’s downfall

Shubman Gill’s ODI captaincy debut under fire (PTI Photo)

Aaron Finch made a bold prediction, claiming Australia will defeat India in the forthcoming three-match ODI series. He, however, mentioned that the matches may be close, adding to the excitement.

India will enter the series following some high-profile changes, chief among them is the appointment of Shreyas Iyer as vice-captain and Shubman Gill as captain. Gill's predecessor, Rohit Sharma, and his own predecessor, Virat Kohli, are also part of the team and will make a return to Indian colours after a long gap of over seven months.

“It will be a great series. It always is against India and I think having Virat back in there brings out the best in him against Australia. It’s always a great battle when you look at it on paper as it’s very evenly matched, but I’d say Australia (win the series) 2-1. Not confidently though as India are a great side and it will just be a great series to watch,” Finch was quoted as saying on the ICC website.

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Given that Australia defeated India in the 2023 World Cup final and that the experienced duo had a forgettable batting performance in the 2024–2025 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, both Kohli and Rohit might feel that they have unresolved business in the country.

Finch, who won the 2015 World Cup and then led Australia to their maiden World T20 title in 2021, is curious to watch how Gill does in his first ODI series as captain. He believes that having Rohit and Kohli by his side should help the 26-year-old.

“Shubman has already shown what a good leader he is in T20 cricket and Test cricket, so I’m sure this will be no different,” Finch noted. “He’s a brilliant player, particularly in the white-ball formats and the way that he captained against England in the Test series is just a huge tick in his box to take the next step and takeover the Indian leadership right the way through (all three formats).”

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It can be intimidating to begin your career as an ODI captain in and against Australia, but Gill's debut as India's Test captain earlier this year was perhaps much more challenging: a five-match series in England. In the exciting series, Gill led from front and it ended in a 2-2 scoreline. He amassed a record 754 runs in the ten innings, which was the highest by any player in the series.

The 26-year-old will only benefit, in Finch's opinion, from having Rohit and Kohli around.

“I think when you look back to that England Test series he (Gill) didn’t have many other options that he could turn to for advice, probably when he was out on the ground, but he did a wonderful job himself. But I think just having those guys (Rohit and Kohli) there will be a real calmness for him as well, because it’s the ability to bounce ideas, both on and off the field on how you want the team to function going forward, because they’ve been such a huge part of the team for a long period of time,” he said.