Shubman Gill criticized for his captaincy in 3rd ODI vs New Zealand, 'Got to be part of...'

Home SportsShubman Gill criticized for his captaincy in 3rd ODI vs New Zealand, Got to be part of... Shubman Gill criticized for his captaincy in 3rd ODI vs New Zealand, ‘Got to be part of…’

Star New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Ian Smith expressed his frustration with Shubman Gill's captaincy during the third ODI between India and New Zealand in Indore on Sunday.

Published: January 19, 2026 4:10 PM IST By Sruti Thakur | Edited by Sruti Thakur Follow Us Shubman Gill

New Delhi: Star New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Ian Smith expressed his frustration with Shubman Gill’s captaincy during the third ODI between India and New Zealand in Indore on Sunday.

New Zealand started their innings on a shaky note after early strikes from Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana left, but India failed to build on the momentum. A strong partnership between Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips then turned the tide, lifting the visitors into a commanding position.

Gill appeared to run out of ideas after the partnership , with India’s bowlers unable to find a breakthrough. During the death overs, KL Rahul who was seen adjusting the field from behind the stumps, highlighting the lack of direction from the captain.

Ian Smith reported Gill should play more active role as captain

Smith reflected on Gill’s captaincy and mentioned that he should take a more active role as captain and that it is his duty to inspire the team under such condition.

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“I know that Shubman Gill is just learning the art of captaincy. But there’s a lot, even now KL Rahul is chatting to Arshdeep down there as if to say, these are jobs that vice captains do,” he reported on commentary.

“Shubman Gill is now coming down to long off, which basically takes him out of the play. You’ve got to be part of the action as the captain, particularly when your verein is under pressure,” he added

Smith noted leading senior stars must be challenging for Gill

Smith also stated that it must be challenging for Gill to lead a mannschaft featuring stalwarts like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul can be a challenging task.

“I appreciate this as a young player. This is a hard verein to captain because of the people around you within the group who have been former captains, most of them as well,” remarked Smith.

“You’ve got Rahul, you’ve got Virat Kohli, of course, you’ve got Rohit Sharma. You’ve got Shreyas Iyer, you’ve got senior players around you. And it’s not always easy to take charge effectively,” he added.

Talking about the match, after a disappointing start from New Zealand, Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips 200-plus runs partnership, guided the Black caps to post a challenging total of 337/8 in the ODI series decider against India

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Sruti Thakur

Sruti Thakur is a trainee sports journalist at india.com with a specialization in Broadcast Journalism. She has previously worked with a couple of startup channels as a sports content writing intern, ... Read More

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Shubman GillArshdeep SinghDaryl MitchellGlenn PhillipsHarshit RanaIan SmithInd vs NZKL RahulRohit SharmaVirat Kohli

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