Shubman Gill has been named as the 37th captain of the Indian Test cricket team. Gill will begin his stint as Test captain from the series against England in June. He has given his first reaction after being appointed as the Test skipper.
Shubman Gill feels the ‘ultimate honour’ of being named the Test captain and is ‘looking forward’ to the challenges coming ahead as India enter a new era in the format. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had announced the Test squad for the five-match series against England and Gill was named the new Test captain.
“It is definitely overwhelming. When everyone starts playing, it is the dream to not only play for India but play Test cricket for India for a very long time. To be able to get this opportunity is a great honour and a responsibility too. I am looking forward for this exciting opportunity and I think the England series is a very good opportunity,” Gill said in a video shared by BCCI.
Gill opened on his captaincy thoughts, stating that the captain should know when to give space to the players. “As a captain, a leader should be able to know when to step in but also when to give space to the players, because everyone has kind of had a different life and grown up differently. Everyone has a different personality, so a good leader should always be able to know what makes his players to be able to have the best performance or the best outcome.
“That is always exciting to be able to have those conversations with the players, to be able to know them on a deeper level than just cricket, because then you’re really able to know what can get the best out of them,” he added.
Watch Gill’s interview video:
Gill captained India during a T20I series in Zimbabwe after the T20 World Cup 2024 win.
“One of the things that I learned was if I’m a batsman, I’m batting out there. I want to be able to make decisions as a batsman and not as a captain,” Gill said. “If I start thinking about other things, it just puts more pressure on me which is not required, because when you’re batting out there, you want to be able to take those risks.
“You want to be able to make decisions that you would make when you are playing just as a batsman because that gives you the freedom. That is one of the things that I learned that when whenever I am batting out there, I just want to be able to make decisions as a batsman and not really want to think that I’m the captain,” he added.
