By Sahil Kohli
New Delhi [India], October 8 : Former West Indies captain Richie Richardson backed India's newly-appointed ODI captain Shubman Gill's promotion to the top post in ODIs and expressed that his seniors, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, still have it in them to play the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Richie was speaking in New Delhi on the sidelines of a Golf Day for Cricket West Indies, powered by the Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL).
Just after India's emphatic win over West Indies in the first Test of the ongoing two-Test series at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium, the team management shocked the cricketing world by announcing Gill as the successor of Rohit Sharma in ODI captaincy, despite the 'Hitman's last assignment being an ICC Champions Trophy in March this year. Promotion of Gill to captaincy after a promising start in Test stint, along with inclusions of Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma in India A ODIs against Australia A recently have raised questions if two of India's biggest ODI match-winners, Rohit and Virat, would board the flight for World Cup 2027 to South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, as by then, they would be around 40 and 39 respectively.
Speaking to ANI about Gill, Richardson, now a match referee after a career spanning 13 years, over 12,000 international runs and 21 centuries, said, "I have to be very careful speaking as I'm a match referee and I work with these players. However, Gill in England showed that he is a good captain and was still able to perform well with the bat. And I am sure that he'll get all the support from these other guys. And that is what you want."
"I mean, no player is going to be around forever. And if you have some guys who have been world beaters like Rohit and Virat and all these guys, if they can support him, it will be only good for India's cricket," he added.
Gill has had a promising start to his captaincy stint, with a well-fought 2-2 draw in five Tests against England in the UK and leading WI by 1-0 currently. He also led the Gujarat Titans (GT) to the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs this year, further highlighting his leadership potential. During the tour to England, he made a record-breaking 754 runs in five Tests with four centuries, rewriting history every match.
Richardson backed 'Ro-Ko' to play, citing them as "world-class players", saying that it is all upto them if they are willing to do whatever it takes for the World Cup dream.
"They are two world-class players. And if they really want it, I do not see why not. I still think they have got it in them," he said.
"It is just a matter of whether they are willing to go out there and do what they have to do; it will be no problem," he added.
The former skipper, who led WI in 24 Tests, winning 11, losing six and drawing seven, backed Men in Maroon to overcome their poor run and win the second Test match in Delhi, taking place from Friday to end the series 1-1.
Richardson also said that with the ongoing ICC World Test Championship (WTC) and the upcoming T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka next year, "there is a lot of work to be done" to become a truly great side.
"West Indies and the people in the Caribbean are aware of it. One of the reasons we are here is to foster relationships with partners in India, so they can be part of our journey back, on the road back, because we are confident. We believe we can get back," he added.
Richardson also said that the WI team has "tremendous talent", which needs to be harnessed, and a solid grassroots foundation needs to be built to bring the team's cricket back on track after three near-bottom finishes in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC).
"So we are hoping that we can get some support here from people in India. India has been good to us over the years, and we are looking forward to a continued, wonderful relationship," he added.
Upon returning to India, Richardson was pleased with the warm reception the West Indies cricketers received in the country.
I am very pleased to be here. I have always loved visiting India, and the Indian fans are still reacting to us. I'm sure we have given the Indian fans here a lot of pleasure over the years, and to be back and still getting that same warm reception, it is absolutely wonderful, and so we're very pleased to be taking part in this event," he concluded.