THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Shubman Gill copped a blow to his right elbow at the nets on Friday, two days before India’s ODI opener against West Indies at the Greenfield International Stadium. Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak brushed off concerns, saying: “He is fine.”It’s a scare India could do without, given how central Gill has become to this side. When he walks out for the toss on Sunday against his West Indies counterpart Shai Hope, it’ll look like a routine bilateral opener. It isn’t. The series puts the spotlight on India’s ODI captain, now leading a dressing room that includes Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, the very players he once watched from the fringes.It’s a captaincy earned in installments. Gill holds two of India’s three leadership roles — Tests and ODIs — while Shreyas Iyer runs T20Is, a deliberate split-format call. Gill led India to a home sweep of Afghanistan in June — the Test 1-0, the ODIs 3-0 — and picked up Player of the Series for his own 238 runs. But results since have wobbled: India lost the ODI series in England in July 1-2, and a home series against New Zealand slipped 2-1 the visitors’ way earlier this year. This tour is a chance to settle those questions on home turf.With the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa now on the horizon, every game doubles as a trial. Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj are fighting to reclaim spots. Uncapped players like Auqib Nabi and Naman Dhir are pushing for their first look-in. Gill’s captaincy is being tested right alongside them.At 27, he’s now the man deciding where two of the format’s most decorated batters fit into the order. His approach has been simple — treat Rohit and Virat as senior pros with more to give, not legends to be managed around, and let his own bat do the talking. The numbers back him: 3,379 ODI runs at 60.33 from 67 games, nine centuries, and a 208 that made him the youngest double-centurion in ODI history. Against West Indies, his average climbs to 66.20, and his recent form — 84 and an unbeaten 154 against Afghanistan, then 80, 31 and 77 in England — suggests he’s in no mood to slow down.The split-captaincy call came down to scheduling more than philosophy: Since the T20 and ODI World Cups don’t fall in the same year, selectors chose not to stretch one leader across formats. South Africa, 2027, is where this gamble will get its verdict.
