Shubman Gill Faces Challenges as India's New Test Captain in England
Shubman Gill's New Role as Test Captain
London [UK], June 17: Dinesh Karthik, the former wicketkeeper batter, has expressed that Shubman Gill may not fully grasp the significance of becoming India's Test captain, especially as he prepares to face tough conditions abroad with a less-than-stellar batting average, according to reports from a sports channel.
India is on the brink of a new chapter in Test cricket, stepping into a phase without its star players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Shubman, who showcased his leadership abilities while captaining the Gujarat Titans in the IPL, has been identified as Rohit’s successor.
In his inaugural series, Shubman will be touring England, a place where India last celebrated a Test series victory back in 2007. While India's fortunes have remained stagnant, England has evolved into a strong team under the guidance of coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.
This duo has not faced defeat in a home Test series since McCullum took charge in 2022. With India lacking its experienced batsmen, Karthik sees England's somewhat weak bowling attack as a silver lining for Gill and his team.
“I don’t think he has fully understood the weight of being India’s Test captain yet. He is stepping into a challenging environment. Fortunately for Shubman Gill, England's bowling lineup is quite vulnerable. That’s the only positive I can identify. England's batting will exert pressure on India, but their bowling still needs improvement,” Karthik mentioned during a podcast.
Previously, Gill has toured England and played three Test matches, where he struggled, accumulating only 88 runs at a disappointing average of 14.66.
Karthik advises Gill to concentrate on his batting and only assume his captaincy role when India aims to disrupt England's renowned 'Bazball' strategy. With the first Test set to take place at Headingley on June 20, Karthik believes this venue could be the perfect opportunity for India’s youngest Test captain to score runs and gain respect among his teammates.
“The first piece of advice I would give Shubman Gill is to focus on your batting and only wear your captaincy hat while fielding. It’s crucial for Gill to score runs to earn respect in the dressing room. His average in SENA countries is not something he should be proud of,” he stated.
“He must perform well in the first Test to avoid adding pressure on himself for the subsequent matches. My primary advice to Shubman Gill is to be the best batsman he can be. He has the capability to score runs,” he added.
India Squad: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc, wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudarshan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.