Many analysts were upset by the BCCI selection committee's choice to appoint Shubman Gill as the captain over the seasoned Jasprit Bumrah, who had previously captained India in two Tests during the most recent trip to Australia. But former Australia captain Ricky Ponting supported the BCCI, arguing that the decision was precisely right and that the timing of Gill's introduction could not have been better.

Bumrah had previously captained India three times, including twice in Australia during the previous season, where India prevailed in Perth in the absence of regular captain Rohit Sharma, so he was in a position to seize the Test captaincy. Nevertheless, the selectors were worried by a back injury he sustained during the Sydney Test, which later caused him to miss the Champions Trophy, and this ultimately hurt his prospects of taking over the helm in Test cricket.

Regarding the ICC Review, Ponting stated that the BCCI made the correct decision in appointing Gill as captain since, in his opinion, India shouldn't have a captain who could be frequently absent from games due to injuries. In addition, he begged the selectors to give Gill more leeway in his role as captain.

"I genuinely believe that it's the best course of action. "I think it's quite simple, even though there are many other people out there, experts out there, who are saying they can't understand why it wasn't Bumrah and why they have gone to Shubman," Ponting remarked.

"You don't want Bumrah's injuries to be hindering him in the last few years as a captain. It's impossible to have a captain who occasionally skips games. Therefore, I believe that it is the best course of action. Now that they've achieved it, they have to stay with it and give him a fair shot at it for a long time.

Ponting believed that the time to select Gill as the Test captain could not have been better, having watched him up close in the IPL, where the young man has been commanding the Gujarat Titans team since 2024.

"I think leadership sits really well with him, if even just looking back at the way he's handled this current GT team through this IPL," Ponting remarked.

The key thing for me with leadership is that a captain who is also a hitter needs to be scoring runs. The timing is perfect, and Shubman is doing that in the IPL. I believe that your captain will be excellent and will run several Test runs in the future.

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