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.

A few days after India’s World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev’s appeal, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretay Jay Shah has instructed the cricket board to release Rs 1 crore with immediate effect to provide financial assistance to India’s veteran cricketer Anshuman Gaekwad, who is battling blood cancer.

According to BCCI Apex Council, Shah has also spoken to Gaekwad’s family and took stock of the situation and provided assistance.

In the statement, the Council has stated that the board stands by Gaekwad’s family in this hour of crisis and will do whatever is essential for Gaekwad’s quick recovery. The BCCI will continue to monitor Gaekwad’s progress and is confident that he will come out of this phase strongly, the BCCI Apex Council further said.

Earlier, speaking to a Sports channel, Kapil said that he had written to BCCI requesting to lend financial support to Gaekwad, who is battling blood cancer alone and said he is ready to donate his pension to help him.

He further said that his former teammates such as Mohinder Amarnath, Sunil Gavaskar, Sandeep Patil, Dilip Vengsarkar, Madan Lal, Ravi Shastri and Kirti Azad have been generating funds to help Gaikwad, who has been undergoing treatment for the past year at King’s College Hospital in London.

Kapil showed his confidence in the BCCI going to take a look into the matter and extend its help to support the former India head coach Gaekwad financially. Kapil said he was saddened and depressed because he had played alongside Gaekwad and couldn’t bear to see him in this situation. No one should suffer, he added.

The cricket legend said he knows the Board will take care of him and not compel anyone. Any help for Anshu should come from the heart. Kapil further said that Anshu took blows to his face and chest when standing up to some of the ferocious fast bowlers. “Now is the time for us to stand up for him. I am sure our cricket fans will not fail him. They should pray for his recovery,” Kapil added.

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.