Shubman Gill refused captaincy ahead of IND vs NZ ODI series

Shubman Gill is back in action after recovering from an injury and a recent food poisoning issue. Ahead of the India vs. New Zealand limited-overs series, the return of Gill in competitive matches is a significant development for Indian cricket, as he is the captain of India's ODI and Test teams.

After getting snubbed from the T20I World Cup squad, which will also participate in the T20I contest against the Blackcaps, Gill will try to prove his mettle in the three-match One Day International series. Ahead of the series, it was speculated that Gill could be appointed as the captain of the Punjab cricket team. But he is currently playing the Punjab vs. Goa match only as a pure batter, not as a captain. Prabhsimran Singh is continuing the role of Punjab captain.

It is reported that the cricket governing body of Punjab offered Shubman the leadership role, but he turned down the proposal, as Singh has captained the team from the beginning of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 (VHT 2025-26). If the reports are to be believed, then the gesture of Gill is purely appreciable. 

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In the previous matches in the VHT 2025-26, Punjab, under the leadership of Prabhsimran Singh, won four out of five matches. The only match they lost was against Uttarakhand. Gill last featured during the India vs. South Africa 5-match T20I series, where he played only 3 matches. In those three games, he scored a total of 32 runs, including a highest score of 28. 

Punjab vs Goa Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 playing XIs:

Punjab: Prabhsimran Singh (C & WK), Shubman Gill, Harnoor Singh, Anmolpreet Singh, Naman Dhir, Ramandeep Singh, Krish Bhagat, Sukhdeep Bajwa, Mayank Markande, Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar.

Goa: Deepraj Gaonkar (C), Snehal Kauthankar, Rajashekhar Harikant (WK), Suyash Prabhudessai, Lalit Yadav, Arjun Tendulkar, Abhinav Tejrana, Vikash, Kashyap Balke, Vasuki Koushik, Shubham Tari.