If Gill is handed the T20I mantle, he will be the fourth Indian captain after Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to hold all-format captaincy.
Amid speculations that Shubman Gill, who already leads the Indian Test and ODI teams, is being groomed to eventually take over the T20I captaincy as well, former India player Abhinav Mukund opined that the team management should not be looking for an all-format captain, and that split captaincy would be a "smart move".
Gill being handed back T20 vice-captaincy with the World Cup just six months away was an indication of Indian cricket going back to its tried and tested one-captain-for-all-formats policy in the near future.
Speaking on The Great Indian Cricket Show on Doordarshan, Mukund, who represented India in seven Tests from 2011-17, said: "I think Shubman has it in him to become an all-format captain, but I do not think India should have an all-format captain anymore."
"Split captaincy is a smart move," he added.
The former opener also highlighted the mounting pressure on Gill, given India's poor home record in the longest format of late.
"This is a crucial series (against South Africa) for Gill although he did exceptionally well against England in his first assignment as Test captain."
On the tour to England, a new-look Team India without stalwarts Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammed Shami, delivered a decent performance to draw the five-match series 2-2.
Gill broke several records in his first series as Test captain, scoring 754 runs with four centuries and a best score of 269. Following his success in England and against the West Indies at home, he was elevated to ODI captaincy ahead of the tour to Australia and was given T20I vice-captaincy for the Asia Cup and the tour to Australia.
If Gill is handed the T20I mantle, he will be the fourth Indian captain after Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to hold all-format captaincy.
Gill didn't bat in India's second innings after he was ruled out of the remainder of the first Test against South Africa at the Eden Gardens, which India lost by 30 runs, with a neck injury.
Gill has been playing non-stop cricket across formats since leading India for the first time in the gruelling England Test series earlier this year.
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