As he gears up to lead India’s red-ball cricket into a new era, starting with the opener of the five-Test series against England at Leeds on Friday, Shubman Gill reflected on the magnitude of the task and what it means to captain India in the longest format.
“Definitely the Test series, in my opinion,” Gill said, when asked whether winning the IPL or a Test series in England holds more value. “You don’t get many opportunities as a captain to be able to come to England, maybe two; if you are the best of your generation, maybe three. And IPL comes every year, and you get to have a crack at it every year. So in my opinion, winning a Test series in England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa is bigger.”
While the 25-year-old Punjab right-hander made an instant impact during the memorable 2020–21 Border-Gavaskar series in Australia, his performances overseas since then have not quite matched up. With full support from the selectors and the team management, Gill is keen to set the record straight in this series.
“Honestly, when I want to go out there and bat, I just want to play as a batsman, not really want to think that I’m the captain of the team because I think that sometimes puts too much pressure on you,” Gill said.
“Whenever I’m going out there, I want to play as a batsman and want to dominate the opposition and be the best batsman in the series, and that’s what I’m trying to look at.”
“I mean, whenever I’m playing, I always think the opposition is trying to challenge me. I mean all the players, you know, that they think are key. So I don’t think it’s going to be any different,” he added.
No.3 continues to be a mystery
Gill refused to confirm the No.3 batter in the pre-match press conference on Thursday, leaving everyone guessing. The battle appears to be between the uncapped Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair, who is likely the frontrunner to the spot, on his return to the Test side after an eight-year hiatus.
“We actually were waiting. The summer has been a little bit different to the other English summers, and it’s been a little bit dry, so I was just waiting to see the wicket one last time to see the final combinations and decide on that,” Gill said when asked about India’s No.3 batter in the first Test.
However, he confirmed that he will step into the No.4 role left vacant by Virat Kohli’s retirement.
“There was, I mean after Virat Bhai retired, GG Bhai (Head coach Gautam Gambhir) and I had a discussion about it and we were both clear that he wanted me to bat at number four and I was also clear that I also wanted to bat at that number,” Gill said.
As India looks to end a 17-year wait for a Test series win in England, the onus will be on Gill to lead India’s Test resurgence as the series also marks the start of the new World Test Championship cycle for 2025-27.
Enough spoken about absence of Rohit, Virat & Ashwin: Stokes
Dispelling the notion that India will be significantly weakened by the retirements of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin, England captain Ben Stokes acknowledged the depth in Indian cricket, saying his team still faces a tough challenge given the visitors’ “ginormous” talent pool.
“There’s been a lot said about no Rohit, no Virat and no Ashwin, that doesn’t mean that we think it’s going to be any easier than what it ever is against India. The pool of talent that Indian cricket has is just ginormous,” Stokes told the media during the pre-match press conference.
The star all-rounder felt it was natural for any side to miss stalwarts like Ashwin, Kohli and Rohit but India continue to produce high-quality players regularly.
“Although Virat, Rohit and Ashwin have done amazing things for their country on the field, that doesn’t mean that whoever comes in to replace those individuals are going to be any less hard to bowl at or bat against, just because of how big the pool of talent is in India.
“We’ve spent a lot of time out at the IPL, so I know that there’s a lot of it. Obviously, three massive names, three people who have done wonderful things for their country, but it is not going to be any easier for us because of those three big names out there,” Stokes added.
Acknowledging the threat from India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, Stokes said his side won’t be focused entirely on handling the Indian ace, who is likely to feature in only three of the five Tests.
“Bumrah leading their attack, he’s a fantastic bowler but there (are) 11 players on the team, and it takes a team to win a game of cricket,” he said.
“But we know Bumrah is an amazing bowler all around the world. His record shows that, wherever he goes, he does well. We know Bumrah is going to be a threat, but we know that every other bowler that India has is also going to be a threat.
“Focusing on one individual over another isn’t what we’re going to be doing, but obviously, you pay respect to your opposition, and Jasprit Bumrah certainly is a fantastic bowler,” he added.