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Gill, Suryakumar, Rohit: India's captaincy cupboard is overflowing; new all-format skipper could be coronated next year
Multiple Indian captains will not rock the boat because there are clear lines of communication between Gautam Gambhir and the core groups of the three outfits.
In the absence of official word to the contrary, it must be assumed that India have a separate captain for each international format – Rohit Sharma, retired from Tests and T20Is, at the helm of the 50-over side to go with confirmed skippers Shubman Gill (Tests) and Suryakumar Yadav. While Gill is firmly in the Test saddle and Suryakumar has been entrusted with leading the side at the T20 Asia Cup, Rohit was in charge when India won the 50-over Champions Trophy in the UAE in February-March. Whether he retains that status will become obvious in October when India play three One-Day Internationals in Australia.
Of the top teams, India find themselves in a unique position. Pat Cummins is Australia’s designated Test and ODI captain, with Mitchell Marsh heading the T20I outfit, a role reprised by Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram respectively for South Africa. Tom Latham is New Zealand’s Test boss while Mitchell Santner is the white-ball skipper, not unlike Ben Stokes and Harry Brook within the English set-up. Not all of them are certainties in all formats, hence the split captaincy can work seamlessly.
What makes the Indian scenario unparalleled is that Gill, reintegrated with the T20I squad after more than a year, will headline the starting line-up in all three variants. At some stage in the future, certainly inside the next 12 months, he is tipped to become the all-format captain, like Rohit, Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni before him. These intervening months will allow him to serve his apprenticeship as white-ball deputy, which isn’t the worst development considering he is only 25, doesn’t have a great deal of leadership experience and is now entrusted with responsibility without all the accountability that comes with captaincy.
Gradually, cricket is inclining towards the head coach becoming supremely influential in espousing the brand of cricket he wants his sides to portray in the different formats that come with myriad challenges, some common and others specific. Multiple captains will not rock the boat because the coaching philosophy is a constant and there are clear lines of communication between Gautam Gambhir and the core groups of the three outfits. In any case, because all these three individuals – Gill, Suryakumar and Rohit – have played alongside each other and shared dressing rooms for extended periods, there is a synergy in thinking that augurs well for Indian cricket.
Are three different captains the perfect recipe for Indian cricket?
A single skipper across formats, especially if one is a batter, is an appealing prospect. But it is also unrealistic in the long run, given how much cricket is being played and given the clamour for India to tour different parts of the world so that they can bolster the coffers of the host country. There is a reason why decision-makers are leaning towards spreading the responsibility around. The risk of burnout is genuine, and as and when Gill does assume the mantle of overall leadership, he must be managed with caution and commonsense. The demands of captaincy extend beyond field placements and bowling changes and batting orders; there are numerous other requirements including but not limited to team meetings, confabulations with match officials, and media commitments. It can be overwhelming, putting immense pressure on mental reserves as much as anything else.
There are shining examples of teams’ fortunes remaining unaffected by split captaincy, best exemplified by South Africa reaching the final of the T20 World Cup last year under Markram and winning the World Test Championship final against Australia this June when braveheart Bavuma led the way despite a serious hamstring injury. Equally, Australia lifting the WTC trophy and the 50-over World Cup title within a few months of each other in 2023 under Cummins, or Rohit spearheading India’s march at the 2024 T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy earlier this year, highlight the virtues of consistency in captaincy. But there can’t be a one-size-fits-all approach.
India must consider themselves fortunate that they are able to fall back on the nous and tactical acumen of so many different individuals whose thinking is aligned towards a common goal and purpose. There was a time in the slightly distant future when captaincy was a game of musical chairs and skippers were often appointed and sacked at the whims and fancies of administrators. That is no longer the case. Each of Gill, Suryakumar and the proven Rohit is an inspirational presence at the top in his own right. That there are others in the fray whose reading of the game is exemplary and who have led by example at different levels is a testament to a system that allows individuals to grow as strategists and tacticians instead of being spoon-fed by a support group that relies massively on data and technology.
T20 cricket specifically is moving towards specialists. In time, there won’t be many T20 stars segueing into Test cricket. The autonomy – for want of a better word – that each format enjoys means players are unlikely to be too affected by the presence of multiple leaders so long as channels of communication are open and vibrant.
