Shubman Gill appointed captain of THIS team after ODI series defeat to New Zealand

Under Shubman Gill’s captaincy, India lost the three-match ODI series against New Zealand by a margin of 2-1.

When the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 resumes on Thursday, all eyes will be on Shubman Gill because India‘s Test and ODI skipper chose to play for Punjab against Saurashtra in a crucial Group B match here rather than take a rest.

Shubman Gill recently captained India in the three-match ODI series against New Zealand. This was the second ODI series in which Gill led India, after making his ODI captaincy debut in Australia, where the Men in Blue lost the series 2-1.

Then Shubman Gill missed the three-match ODI series against South Africa with a toe injury, and KL Rahul captained the Indian team to a 2-1 series win. Much was expected from Gill when he returned as India’s captain for the series against the Black Caps.

Snubbed from India’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad, Shubman Gill had a lot to prove with his bat and captaincy. While he managed to hit two half-centuries in the first two matches for India, one that India won in Vadodara and the other that India lost in Rajkot, Gill failed when India needed him the most in Indore, chasing 337 runs.

India lost their first-ever home ODI series to New Zealand as Daryl Mitchell tormented them with 352 runs in three games, while Shubman Gill lost the second consecutive ODI series as India captain.

Shubman Gill named Punjab captain for their next Ranji Trophy 2025-26 match

Now, as the Indian team shifts its focus to T20Is, with a five-match series against New Zealand starting from January 21, 2026, in Nagpur, Shubman Gill, who is not in T20I plans, will instead feature for Punjab and captain them against Saurashtra in a key Group B clash.

With Saurashtra ranked fourth with 13 points, the match is significant for both teams. In a group topped by Karnataka with 21 points, three more than Maharashtra, Punjab is ranked sixth and have a difficult task ahead of them

Since he is not included in India’s T20 World Cup team, Gill, who played in all three ODIs in the just-finished series that India lost 1-2, has decided to immediately return to red-ball cricket.

The 26-year-old is eager to assist Punjab in maintaining its limited chances of winning the top domestic competition.

“Shubman decided against taking any break post ODI series, and it took him eight hours to reach Rajkot from Indore, as there aren’t any direct flights available,” a source close to the Punjab team told PTI.

The former champions would need to win all three of their remaining league games in order to have any chance of qualifying for the knockout stage. Therefore, it is believed that Gill’s return as captain and with the bat at the top of the order is essential to Punjab’s goals.

This will be Gill’s first red-ball outing since suffering a neck injury during the Test series against South Africa, which kept him out of competitive cricket for a long time.

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