Shubman Gill lambasted on live TV for not being a proactive captain; KL Rahul steps in as Mitchell, Phillips bully India

For the majority of the death overs, KL Rahul was seen moving the fielders around as he had the best view from behind the stumps, while Gill was seen playing second fiddle. It was then that former New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Ian Smith noticed that Gill was not very proactive in his captaincy, and that the bulk of the talking to the bowlers was being done by KL Rahul.

Pointing to the chatter between Rahul and Arshdeep during the 43rd over of New Zealand's innings, Smith said Gill needs to be more involved in the game and that it is his job to rally the troops. However, Smith also said he understands that Gill is new to the captaincy and that it will take him some time to grow into the role. India were bossing the game at one stage when the Black Caps were 58/3, but Mitchell and Phillips brought the innings back on track as the duo hit centuries.

“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 team is under pressure,” he added.

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

Earlier, in the series decider, India captain Gill won the toss and opted to bowl first. New Zealand posted in 50 overs, owing to knocks of 137 and 106 by Mitchell and Phillips. Arshdeep was the pick of the Indian bowlers, returning with three wickets in his quota of 10 overs and giving away 63 runs. Harshit also scalped three, but he gave away more than 80 runs and was unable to keep the run flow in check.

Speaking about Gill, he was named ODI captain last year and succeeded Rohit. In his first ODI series as the skipper, India lost 1-2 Down Under, and he missed the next contest against South Africa due to a neck injury.

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