“He is not a ‘born leader’ yet” – Manoj Tiwary’s huge statement on Shubman Gill’s captaincy after India’s ODI series win vs Afghanistan

Shubman Gill won his first ODI series as captain of the Indian team after the Men in Blue whitewashed Afghanistan 3-0 on Saturday, June 20. Former India batter Manoj Tiwary believes that he isn’t a ‘born leader’ but backed him to improve with experience.

After Shubman replaced Rohit Sharma as the captain of the ODI team, India lost a three-match series to Australia 1-2 in October 2025. Earlier this year, New Zealand defeated India by a same margin. However, Shubman has finally tasted success as a skipper in the 50-over format, with the Asian giants defeating Afghanistan comprehensively in the recently-concluded series.

“This series went well for him as captain. The more series he captains, the better he will get. He is not a ‘born leader’ yet, but he will learn. Everything comes naturally to a born leader, and then there is someone like Shubman Gill who learns with time, and that is why it is important for Rohit and Virat, and even KL to stay in the team and advise him. The mistakes that they made during their captaincy, they will not let him repeat it,” Tiwary said on Cricbuzz.

“Also, when you have so many good players, the pressure of captaincy reduces a bit. When you have the number one pacer and spinner, you just have to bring them on, and they will do their job. So, this is the luxury you have in Team India, because we have top, top players. Bring any bowler at any point of time, they will deliver,” he added.

Shubman didn’t just lead the team well, but he also played a key role with the bat. The Punjab batter finished with 238 runs in two innings at an average of 238 and a strike rate of 135.23. He was the highest run-getter by a distance and went on to win the Player of the Series award. His next test will be a tough one, as India will play three ODIs against England in the United Kingdom next month.