Indian leg spinner Amit Mishra has criticised the decision to make Shubman Gill the captain of India’s T20 team.

In a podcast, Mishra said Gill has no idea of what it means to be a captain and is ignorant of the importance of the captain’s role. Mishra said he didn’t feel Gill could do justice to the responsibility of being a captain in the recently concluded T20I series against Zimbabwe.

He suggested Ruturaj Gaikwad was a better option. He said there is a sense that Gaikwad has been ignored by the BCCI and national selectors to support Gill. Even Gaikwad was overlooked as a backup player for the T20 World Cup 2024 and then for India’s captaincy in Zimbabwe.

Mishra didn’t hesitate in saying he wouldn’t have appointed Gill captain for the Zimbabwe series. He admitted the decision had surprised him.

Mishra clarified that he is not someone who hates Gill but believed that if someone was doing well that person deserved a chance and respect, like Gaikwad.

During the IPL, Mishra said Gaikwad as captain of Chennai Super Kings had scored vital runs in many different situations. He has the hallmark of a complete player and needs to be rewarded in ODIs and Tests as well.

Most important thing is that he brings calm to the team and doesn’t make such risky shots, Mishra said in his evaluation of the performances of Gill and Gaikwad in IPL matches.

Mishra said the other captaincy options were Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant. He said these three, including Gaikwad, are players who can lead India in T20Is.

The leggie also spoke on several other controversial topics including the row involving Sanjeev Goenka and KL Rahul during the IPL and the fraught dynamics between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir.

The Indian cricket team is not likely to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy in 2025. The BCCI told the media on Thursday that it will ask the ICC to host matches in Sri Lanka, Dubai in a hybrid model. The Indian team has not travelled to Pakistan since 2008 the two teams have played against each other only at multi team events. The last Asia Cup was hosted in Pakistan but India played all their matches in Sri Lanka under a Hybrid model which had been set by the organisers.

The Indian cricket team claimed that the Indian government has not granted permission to visit Pakistan for the Asia Cup. The marquee tournament is scheduled from February 19 to March 9, 2025 (Reserve Day). Pakistan has not hosted any major international tournament since 1996, but in 2025 they will be hosting the Champions Trophy.

The two nations have not played bilateral cricket with each other since the 2012-2013 season. The ICC head of events Chris Tetley met the PCB chairman Naqvi in Islamabad and inspected the other arrangement. The Pakistan Cricket Board has allocated approximately Rs 17 billion for the upgradation of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi for 50 over Marquee Stadium, featuring over 8 teams.

According to reports the Pakistan Cricket Board had planned a match between India and Pakistan in Lahore on March 1, 2025 and the Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Broad Mohsin Naqvi had submitted a report of the 15 matches. But the BCCI has not given any confirmation about the Champions Trophy since touring Pakistan is a big concern for the Indian government.

On May 6, Rajeev Shukla, the Vice President of the BCCI told the media that they will do whatever the Government of India tells them to do. He further added that they will send the Indian team only once they get permission from the government of India.

Abhishek Sharma’s outstanding century in his 2^nd T20 international match not only made him the highest scorer for India against Zimbabwe in T20Is but also set a new record for the fastest century by an Indian batsman in this format which was achieved in just 2 innings.

Sharma took just 2 innings to hit a century for India in T20Is and crossed Deepak Hooda (3 innings) and KL Rahul (4 innings) as the fastest to achieve this milestone. He reached his century with 3 consecutive sixes, scoring his first 50 runs in 33 balls and his next 50 in just 13 deliveries.

With this knock, Abhishek Sharma at 23 years and 307 days, has joined an elite list of young Indian cricketers to score a century in T20 Internationals, following closely behind Suresh Raina (23 years and 156 days), Shubman Gill (23 years and 146 days), and Yashasvi Jaiswal (21 years and 279 days).

Abhishek Sharma’s innings in Harare 2024 also marks the 4^th fastest century for India in T20 Internationals. He joins the ranks of KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, and Rohit Sharma. India won the toss and elected to bat first but the opening partnership could not grow long, with Shubman Gill was sent back to the pavillion early in his innings to Blessing Muzarabani. But Abhishek Sharma along with Rutuiraj Gaikwad took the innings forawrd with his aggressive batting and calculated strokeplay.

Abhishek’s intent was evident from the outset as he hit Brian Bennet for a 6 and continued to attack the Zimbabwe bowling attack. Despite some early pressure from Zimbabwe’s bowlers he maintained his composure and found boundaries with precision. His Partnership with Ruturaj Gaikwad became stronger as it crossed the 100-run mark, with Abhishek Sharma leading the charge. Sharma attacked Wellington Masakadza, and hit him for consecutive sixes which took him to his century.