Sourav Ganguly Offers Cautionary Advice to Shubman Gill Amidst Impressive Start as Captain

Ganguly's Perspective on Gill's Captaincy

Shubman Gill has made a remarkable start to his tenure as Test captain, garnering admiration from many, including former India captain Sourav Ganguly. Celebrating his 53rd birthday on Tuesday, Ganguly acknowledged Gill's outstanding performance but cautioned that the true test of leadership lies ahead. India's commanding 336-run victory at Edgbaston not only equalized the five-match series against England at 1-1 but also highlighted Gill's exceptional skills. His scores of 269 and 161 in Birmingham marked the highest match aggregate by an Indian batsman, falling just 18 runs short of Rahul Dravid's record of 602 runs set during the 2002 tour of England, which remains the highest by an Indian in a series on English soil.

Ganguly remarked, "This is the best I’ve seen him bat, and I’m not surprised. He has just become captain; it’s a honeymoon period. However, as time progresses, the pressure will increase. The next three Tests will bring more challenges."

Gill's remarkable form has him on the brink of breaking a century-old record. With three matches remaining, he needs to accumulate 225 more runs to surpass Don Bradman's record of 810 runs, the highest by a captain in a Test series during the 1936-37 Ashes.

Ganguly emphasized the wealth of talent in Indian cricket, stating, "In every generation, you will find exceptional players. After legends like Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Tendulkar, Dravid, and Kumble, we now have Kohli, Gill, Jaiswal, Akash Deep, Mukesh, and Siraj. There’s an abundance of talent ready to step up whenever there’s a gap."

He added, "It’s currently one-all in the series. There’s still much to play for with three matches left. India has performed well, but they must start fresh in the next match at Lord’s."

While celebrating the team's achievements, Ganguly urged caution, highlighting the tougher challenges that lie ahead. He praised the new generation of Indian players for stepping up in the absence of seasoned stars like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin, but reiterated that the series is far from over and will require resilience and reliability.