Shubman Gill (PTI Photo)
NEW DELHI: Shubman Gill, one of India’s brightest young batting stars, is set to embark on a new chapter as captain of the Indian Test team. The 25-year-old will lead the side in the upcoming England series, starting June 20 in Leeds, a responsibility he admits he hadn’t even imagined growing up. In a candid conversation with Dinesh Karthik on Sky Sports, Gill reflected on what the moment meant to him and his family. “Honestly, I don’t think even my father dreamt of me becoming India’s Test captain. And I definitely didn’t,” he said, smiling. “It wasn’t even in my dreams to be the captain.”Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Gill shared that he kept the news under wraps initially, waiting for it to be official before informing his father. “He called me when the news broke. I knew a bit earlier but waited till it was official. We had a very heartfelt conversation once he found out.” The Punjab batter, who made his Test debut in Melbourne in 2020, has scored 1,893 runs in 32 matches, including five centuries.
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Now, as India’s 37th Test captain, he steps into the shoes of Rohit Sharma, who retired from the format earlier in May. Gill also spoke about his discussions with the selectors, chairman Ajit Agarkar and new head coach Gautam Gambhir.
“They just want me to be able to express myself as a leader. That’s what they’ve told me: there are no expectations, they aren’t expecting me to do something I’m not capable of. So in that sense, I don’t think there’s any pressure or specific expectation from them,” he added. Gill’s first big test as skipper will come in the challenging conditions of England, where India will look to script history once again.
