‘I think it’s the right move’: Ponting backs Gill’s elevation as Test captain

New Delhi: Australia legend Ricky Ponting has thrown his weight behind Shubman Gill as India’s new Test captain and outlined how he believes the side could shape up for their upcoming five-Test tour of England — their first without stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

Both Kohli and Rohit, two of India’s modern greats, announced their retirements from Test cricket earlier this month, prompting a generational shift as India looks to the future. At just 25, Gill has been entrusted with the captaincy — a move that raised eyebrows among some pundits, but not Ponting.

“I actually think it’s the right move,” Ponting said on The ICC Review, responding to debate around Gill’s appointment. “I know there’s 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.

“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, who has worked with Gill during IPL stints, praised the young batter’s temperament and leadership skills, particularly after guiding Gujarat Titans during a turbulent IPL 2025 campaign.

“Even just looking back at the way he’s handled this current GT team through this IPL, I think leadership sits really well with him,” Ponting said.

“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 IPL and I think the timing is right. I think you’ll have a good captain who’ll make a lot of Test runs going forward.”

While Gill’s leadership qualities are not in question for Ponting, the position he should bat in remains open. Having oscillated between opening and No. 3 in his 32-Test career so far, the former Australia captain suggested that Gill might benefit from batting lower down the order.

“I think (Sai) Sudharsan and (Yashasvi) Jaiswal will open the batting (in England), as Sudharsan just looks like a class player to me and technically I think he could do well at Test level,” Ponting said.

“They’ll have two pretty young opening batters, so they might look to go for someone that’s got a bit more experience at No.3. Whether that’s KL (Rahul) or Karun (Nair) at No.3, and then Shubman might end up being that No.4 player, which will probably make life for him a little bit easier as a captain as well.

“Not having to be opening or batting at No.3 as a young captain might make it easier. Their top five will probably be Sudarshan, Jaiswal, KL, Gill and Karun Nair for the start of the England series.”

Replacing legends like Rohit and Kohli in Test cricket is a mammoth task, but Ponting believes India is well-equipped to handle the transition.

“It’s always very hard to replace players like that have been around for so long, that have played that much Test cricket. But if any country can do it and do it quickly, India can because of the amount of young talent that they have,” he noted.

“I’ve seen it first-hand for 10 years now around the IPL and we’ve seen the emergence of Jaiswal and these sort of guys that have come into international cricket with India and done really well pretty much straight away. The skill side of it’s one thing to replace and I think India will replace the skill side of it easily enough, but the experience is the big thing that’s going to be missing for them.

“So now even with a young captain with Shubman Gill, they’ll still have some experience around with KL Rahul and Bumrah and these sort of guys. But I think if you look at a rebuilding sort of phase, I think India can cope with it better than most other teams.”

Ponting also touched on the surprise inclusion of left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh in India’s squad for the England series — a move that many viewed as a gamble. But having worked with the 26-year-old at Punjab Kings in the IPL, Ponting feels Arshdeep’s skill set and familiarity with English conditions could be key.

“I would actually have him in their Test team at the start (of the England series),” Ponting said. “He’s very skillful, he’s played County cricket, he knows the conditions there and I think the Dukes Ball will help him in the UK as well. And I just think to have that point of difference, having a left-armer in your team, I think will be something that, if India don’t do it then it’ll be a bit of a surprise to me.

“As we know in England, the ball still swings 30, 40 or 50 overs old. So to have someone that’s got that swing bowling ability and a left-armer I think is something that the Indian team should definitely look out for on that tour.”

India’s tour of England, part of the ICC World Test Championship 2025–27 cycle, begins with the first Test at Headingley, Leeds on June 20.

IANS