Gill said that winning the 2027 World Cup, which will be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, is the ultimate target (AP Photo)Shubman Gill has said that he hopes he will be able to maintain India’s status as one of the top sides in the world in One-Day International cricket after he was named captain of the team in the format. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced Gill as India’s captain in the format as part of the squad announcement for their upcoming limited-overs tour of Australia, thus replacing Rohit Sharma in the role.
Rohit remains part of the ODI squad though, as is fellow veteran Virat Kohli, both of whom have retired from Tests and T20Is. “It’s the biggest honour to be able to lead your country in the one-day and to be able to lead a side, you know that has done so well, it’s immense pride for me, and I hope I’ll be able to do great,” Gill said in his first reactions after being named captain on bcci.tv.
Gill said that winning the 2027 World Cup, which will be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, is the ultimate target. “I think we have about 20 ODIs before we play the World Cup and obviously the ultimate goal is the World Cup in South Africa, so everything that we play, and all the players that we play they are going to try their best, and we’re going to try our best to be able to have a great season before we get to the World Cup. Hopefully, we will be fully ready when we go to South Africa and win that World Cup,” he said.
Gill also paid a special tribute to the city of Ahmedabad, where he had led India to victory in the first Test against the West Indies in his first home match as captain in the format just minutes before he was officially announced as the ODI skipper. He also leads the Gujarat Titans in the IPL, who are based out of the city and Gill also said that he was in Ahmedabad when he was told that he has been made India’s Test captain a few months ago. “It’s difficult to put in words. This state is very special for me. From captaining my IPL team, then getting to know that I”ll be Test captain, I was here and then my first Test at home, leading the side in Ahmedabad, this venue has always been very special for me,” he said.
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