Indian vice-captain Shubman Gill has been seen continuously with the Indian team since January. He played in the Champions Trophy, then represented Gujarat Titans in the IPL, and was later appointed as India’s new Test skipper, leading the team on the tour to England for a 5-match Test series.
Kotak Clarifies Workload Management Policy for Indian Players
After a month-long break, he’s back playing for India in the T20Is, this time as the new vice-captain. With ongoing speculation about his workload management, India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak clarified that workload management is mainly meant for fast bowlers. He also explained how the BCCI and the team management approach the issue.
“I don’t know how you look at workload management, but generally we do it for bowlers, mainly fast bowlers. When it comes to batsmen, it becomes a concern only if they mentally feel that cricket has become too much for them. In my view, workload management is actually meant for fast bowlers. For batsmen, I don’t think workload management is that much of an issue," Kotak told the media.
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Kotak also explained how Shubman Gill has been able to adapt to different batting techniques based on the format, showing great awareness of when to be aggressive and when to anchor the innings.
“Nowadays, whichever format a player takes up, they are very much aware of how to approach red-ball cricket and how to approach white-ball cricket. Even in white-ball, they know how to approach the powerplay and how to approach the death overs. Of course, there will be some technical adjustments, and these players are fully aware of what needs to be done. So, the players will definitely try to make those adjustments. Once white-ball practice begins, they start focusing on that, and when it’s red-ball practice, they shift their focus to how to approach red-ball cricket,” he added.
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Gill’s Strong Case for Full-Time Captaincy
Since being appointed to leadership duties, Gill has been consistent with the bat, regularly scoring runs. He also became the leading run-scorer in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy with a record-breaking performance. Now, he’s been given the opportunity to open alongside Abhishek Sharma. He had a good start against UAE, staying unbeaten on 20 (9) with 3 fours and a huge six to his name.
There’s growing speculation that the BCCI is considering making him the full-time captain across all formats — and his current batting form supports that possibility.
Shubman and India will be back in action against Pakistan tomorrow in a Super Sunday clash at the Dubai International Stadium for the Asia Cup 2025.
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