New Delhi, Oct 14 (PTI) Shubman Gill has “already passed his toughest test as captain in England” and no one has done any favours by appointing him captain across two formats, head coach Gautam Gambhir couldn’t stop waxing eloquent about the young skipper.
As he turned 44 on Tuesday, the birthday boy couldn’t have asked for a better present — India’s victory as the hosts completed a 2-0 clean sweep of West Indies’ in Gill’s first series at home as captain.
When asked how as a coach is he managing the new skipper, Gambhir was prompt with his answer.
“(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, right now, is focussed on the present and doesn’t want to fret over whether India will play the 2027 World Test Championship final or not.
“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.”
Leading in a five-Test series over two months for his maiden captaincy assignment in England, it couldn’t have got tougher for Gill, Gambhir asserted.
“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?”
The way Gill has handled himself and how he has earned the respect of the dressing room is something that has impressed Gambhir.
“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.
There are two aspects to captaincy — one where a person leads by example which Gill did with 754 runs and secondly saying the things that resonates with the dressing room.
“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.”
Are you looking at getting him a mental conditioning coach or trainer to support him?
For one of the rarest instances, head coach Gambhir laughed and cracked a joke and that too on himself.
“First and foremost, I need one,” Gambhir quipped.
“When the team wins, everyone is in a good space but when it doesn’t win, I need to keep them in a good space,” he added.
Shubman Gill, captain, Gautam Gambhir, India cricket, West Indies series
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