Head coach Gautam Gambhir couldn’t stop talking eloquently about Shubman Gill, saying that he has “already passed his toughest test as captain in England” and that no one has done him any favors by making him captain across two formats.
Gill’s first series at home as captain was India’s 2-0 clean sweep of the West Indies, which was the best gift Gambhir could have wished for on his 44th birthday.
Gambhir was quick to respond when asked how he is handling the new captain as a coach.
“(By) just allowing him to be himself. I think no one has done him a favour by appointing him the Test captain or (the) one-day captain. I think he deserves every bit of it,” Gambhir said.
“I think he’s worked hard. He has already passed his toughest test as captain — that was in England, five Tests away from home in tough conditions against a quality team.”
Gambhir doesn’t want to worry about whether India will make it to the 2027 World Test Championship final at this time; he is focused on the present.
“For me, I am not looking ahead at what is going to happen in the World Test Championship final in 2027. That is still a long, long way away. I think, staying in the present is very important. It was important for us to win this series at home. More importantly, I think we have got a very busy schedule. Hopefully, we can keep continuing from here.”
Gambhir claimed that it couldn’t have gotten any harder for Gill, who was leading a five-Test series over two months for his first captaincy assignment in England.
“I know it’s tough for him. It was tough, and I’ve said it many times, that England was probably the toughest Test for him. Five Test matches over the course of two, two and a half months, against a quality England side. What more could he have faced?”
Gambhir has been impressed by Gill’s self-management and his ability to earn the respect of the dressing room.
“Sometimes we only keep talking about the captain, but the way the team has responded to him and to his leadership is equally important,” Gambhir said.
Being captain involves two things: first, setting an example, like Gill did with his 754 runs, and second, speaking in a way that the team can relate to.
“You’ve got to give credit to the entire group in that dressing room. You do earn respect by scoring runs, but you also earn respect by saying the right things, and doing the right things. I think your actions should be more than any other thing, not just the performances. He’s done phenomenally well, and so has the group.”
