Shubman Gill admitted he was surprised and excited when he was named as India's new test captain.
Gill was appointed last month following the test retirements of the last two captains, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
He met the media in Mumbai on Thursday before India leaves for the five-test series against England starting on June 20 in Leeds.
"I was overwhelmed to learn that I had been presented with the opportunity to lead India,” Gill said. "It is a big responsibility and I am looking forward to a great challenge in England.”
Sharma and Kohli were already established cricket greats when they became captains, but Gill, while aggressive, has yet to become a consistent, elite batter marked by match-winning performances. From 32 tests, he's scored 1,893 runs and five centuries at an average of 35.
He wants to lead by example and get on the same wavelength as his teammates.
“As captain, you want to win every match, but when I am out there as a batter, my focus is only on scoring as many runs as possible for the benefit of my team,” he said. "Having said that, averages and numbers are not something I look at, but I do want to lead with my performances with the bat.
“There isn't a particular style (of captaincy) that I want to follow. It comes on through experience and the more you play, your personal style then comes through to people. I like good communication with my players. It makes them feel secure and gives them comfort as per their strengths or weaknesses. As captain, I would like to have that bond with my players, because secure players will give you a 100%.”
Star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah led India twice in Australia last winter in Sharma's absence and likely would have been named captain ahead of Gill, but his back issues will limit his appearances against England. The selectors also hope Gill, at 25, will have a long and fruitful reign.
Bumrah won't feature in all five tests owing to fitness and workload issues.
“We haven't decided which tests Bumrah will or won't play,” India coach Gautam Gambhir said. “It will depend on his fitness, workload and also the status of the series. Like I said ahead of the Champions Trophy, it is an opportunity for someone else to put their hand up. We have enough bowling quality in the squad, and our attack's composition will be decided based on both ground and overhead conditions.”
'We are used to pressure'
No Kohli, Sharma or Ravichandran Ashwin, who retired last summer, plus Bumrah unavailable for all five tests. Gill and Gambhir played down concerns about their chances.
“It is not easy to fill their shoes, but it doesn’t put any additional pressure on us,” Gill said. “That pressure to win is there in every series and we are used to it. It depends on how we adapt to play and win in such pressure conditions.
“We have a good batting and bowling combination. It is a good mix of experience and youth in our squad."
Gambhir added, “Yes, it is a clean slate. But such things don’t matter. When you go on a big tour, everyone is excited to perform and that leaves you in a good mental space. We have quality players in our test squad, who are willing to express themselves and do something special."
Gill has played one test in England. Amongst India’s batters, only Lokesh Rahul and Rishabh Pant have previously toured there.
A young squad faces a daunting task against an experienced England side led by star allrounder Ben Stokes. Even with Kohli, Sharma and Ravichandran, India hasn't won a test series in England since 2007. It lost 4-0 in 2011, then 3-1 in 2014 and 4-1 in 2018. It led 2-1 in 2021 but the fifth test was postponed until 2022 owing to the pandemic. That delayed series ended 2-2.
“England plays a certain (attacking) way, which we saw when they came to India last (in 2024),” Gill said. “It presents a great challenge. So we have to be proactive with our thinking and our execution as well.”
Tragedy in Bengaluru
Gambhir was asked about the tragedy in Bengaluru on Wednesday night when 11 fans died in a stampede outside Chinnaswamy Stadium while trying to join the celebrations of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's maiden Indian Premier League title.
“I was never a believer that we need to have roadshows,” Gambhir said. "Even when I was playing, I had the same statement – when we won the 2007 T20 World Cup, I was of the opinion that we shouldn't have roadshows. (The) life of people is far more important.
“If at all there is need for a celebration, it can be held in a closed-door environment or inside a stadium. It is very tragic what happened yesterday and my heart goes out to those who have lost their loved ones. Hopefully in future, nothing like this happens because we are responsible citizens and we should take care of all this.”
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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
Chetan Narula, The Associated Press
