By Vipul Kashyap

Dubai [UAE], January 5 (ANI): Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh backed the decision to make star opener Shubman Gill the new ODI captain, saying that the youngster looks 'ready for big challenges' and added that he will get more chances in T20I format after being snubbed from T20 World Cup squad after a brief stint with the team as its vice-captain.

Skipper Shubman, who lost his first ODI series as a captain to Australia away from home, is gearing up for his first ODI series at home, against New Zealand, starting from January 11 onwards. While the well-fought 2-2 draw against England in the UK and his 754 runs with four centuries stay the crowning jewel of his brief stint as Test captain, he is yet to make an impact both as a batter and a leader in ODIs.

Also, in the T20Is, he failed to live up upto expectations after returning as vice-captain at the Asia Cup, scoring just 291 runs in the last 15 innings without a fifty since his comeback.

Speaking to ANI about Gill's comeback to ODIs after a neck injury sustained during South Africa Tests and T20 WC snub, Harbhajan said, 'Gill was bound to make a comeback. I had no doubt that there was any question about Shubman's return. I think Shubman Gill was left out solely because of the T20 format and the combination Team India wanted. Otherwise, I never had any doubt that he would not be in the ODI or Test team. So, he has returned as captain. I hope the team plays well, and this series will also be won by India.'

He termed the T20 World Cup squad selected by chief selector Ajit Agarkar as a '10/10 team' and said that while he felt bad for Gill, he would get his chances soon.

'The team is really good. I had told that Ajit should be given 10/10 for the team. I felt a little bad for Shubman, but he will get more chances soon. All the players are match winners in their own right. Hope we can win back-to-back World Cups because we have that team,' he said.

On the decision to appoint Gill as ODI captain, Harbhajan justified it, saying it was made with the future in mind and that he feels Gill is ready.

'I think the decision has been taken keeping the future in mind. Sometimes you do feel things have been done quickly. But I think he is ready for this job. This is a high-demand job; he is young. The sooner he learns the art of captaincy and team management, the better the results will be. That England Test series was one of the finest I have ever seen. Scoring so many runs and leading from the front shows that he has worked harder than anybody else. Whatever I know of Shubman, he is ready for big challenges,' he added.

He also hailed Team India's 'match-winning' spin trio of Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav selected for the T20 World Cup.

'Spin is nice for India. Kuldeep, Varun and Axar are all spinners and can win you the match in one spell. Players are still not able to decipher Varun. Kuldeep has that variation. This is a nice combination of spinners, hope they stay injury-free and serve India for a long time,' he said.

He also backed skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who has scored just 218 runs in 19 innings last year at an average of 13.62 without a fifty to score big during a crucial T20 World Cup match.

'Suryakumar has not made many runs, but when the WC comes, we will need big players to fire. He will shine bright in that big match. Abhishek (Sharma) can win you matches on your own. The form Hardik (Pandya) is in, he is a key player. We also have Arshdeep (Singh) and (Jasprit) Bumrah in pace,' he concluded.

India's squad for T20 World Cup 2026 and New Zealand T20I series: Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vice-capt), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (wk). (ANI)