“They will look at Shreyas Iyer” - World Cup winner's stunning claim over debate around Shubman Gill as all-format captain

Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa has made a huge claim that Shubman Gill will not be an all-format India captain despite taking over from Rohit Sharma in Tests and ODIs. The cricketer-turned-commentator believes that the 25-year-old will have to earn his spot in T20Is while predicting that Shreyas Iyer will be the next captain after Suryakumar Yadav in the shortest format.

The remarks came even as Gill was named vice-captain in T20Is ahead of the 2025 Asia Cup. Interestingly, Shreyas has not played in T20Is since December 2023. The 30-year-old, however, led the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to IPL 2024 glory and the Punjab Kings (PBKS) to the IPL 2025 final.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Uthappa said:

“I get One Day and Test cricket, and I think he’s a solid pick in Test cricket, and he’s shown us that as well. As far as ODI cricket is concerned, I think his numbers are good, but I think they’ll get better for a player of his caliber. I think they will look at Shreyas Iyer as a captain in T20. Shubman Gill, he still has to earn that spot.”

While keeping Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson in fray, Uthappa further added that the second opening slot is still open with Gill failing to deliver in the 2025 Asia Cup. He further reiterated that Gill is not a guaranteed captain in T20Is. The 39-year-old continued:

“Especially when have Yashasvi Jaiswal waiting in the wings, Sanju Samson’s spot being shifted, Shreyas Iyer not being a part of the side, waiting in the wings as well. I wish his Asia Cup went better for him for his sake because now Abhishek has run with that one opener slot. Now, the second opener slot is still very much open. As far as I am concerned, Yashasvi can be someone who can come up there. Sanju can certainly come up there.” “I still think Gill needs to secure his spot first. So, I don’t think it will be taken for granted in a sense where he will be captain or he will be next in line.” We know and we’ve seen Indian cricket changes overnight; things change very quickly, narratives change very quickly. Honestly, vice-captaincy in India doesn’t mean very much… Like, you’ve seen a bunch of vice-captains not becoming captain, right?” he added.

Notably, Gill managed 127 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 151.19 at the 2025 Asia Cup with the best score of 47.

“He has got to be an automatic pick in the XI” – Sunil Gavaskar backs Shubman Gill to lead India across all formats

Sunil Gavaskar shared a contrasting reaction to Robin Uthappa, backing Shubman Gill to lead India across all three formats in the near future. Justifying the reason, the former India captain recently told India Today (via Sportskeeda):

"At the moment, the T20I captaincy is in the hands of Suryakumar Yadav, who just won us the Asia Cup. Shubman was the vice-captain there. So, clearly the message is that he will soon be an all-format captain.” “Whoever is going to lead has got to be an absolute certainty. He has got to be an automatic pick in the XI. In that case, you can have him as captain. It is not easy to have three different captains. It is not easy for the other players in the team who might be playing all three formats. If a player is good enough to captain in one format, he should be the captain in all three formats,” he added.

Gill has been rewarded for his 2-2 draw in a five-match Test series in England earlier this year. Under his leadership, India also beat the West Indies by an innings and 140 runs in the first of the ongoing two-match series at home. He will begin his first assignment as India's ODI skipper during the upcoming three-match ODI series in Australia, which starts in Perth on October 19.

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Edited by James Kuanal