Overview
- Monty Panesar called Shubman Gill a complacent player who plays lazy shots and said the India Test captain is not ready to lead across formats.
- He praised Gautam Gambhir’s white-ball success but urged him to coach a Ranji Trophy side to better grasp building a red-ball team.
- Panesar framed his critique in the context of India’s recent Test whitewashes, 3-0 to New Zealand and 2-0 to South Africa, after senior retirements.
- He argued that a widening gap between Ranji Trophy standards and Test demands, plus IPL-driven incentives, is leaving youngsters underprepared for five-day cricket.
- The BCCI publicly rejected reports of an approach to VVS Laxman, and Gill, dropped from the T20 World Cup after poor T20 returns, is reported to be set to captain January’s ODI series against New Zealand following a Vijay Hazare appearance for Punjab.