Shubman Gill.
When Shubman Gill was announced as the new skipper of the Indian team for the England series, questions were instantly raised if the prince’s ascension to the throne was premature. He’s just 25 years old and his performances previously in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia) countries weren’t encouraging.
Shouldn’t he be given more time to find his feet while a senior like KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah or Rishabh Pant could have done the job? Won’t the weight of captaining a transitional Indian team in a punishing place like England, where the visitors have won a Test series just thrice, weigh him down? Will the physical and emotional toil of leading in a gruelling five-match series affect his batting — he averaged 36.57 before this series — which is still a work in progress?
Well, the soft-spoken but hard-nosed Gill has answered most of those questions in emphatic fashion, indicating he’s one of those who can thrive personally in leadership roles.
Firstly, the batting where Gill has smashed some long-standing records and is on course to obliterate a few more when he takes strike in the final Test at The Oval starting July 31.
Prior to the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, the Punjabi didn’t have a single century in SENA countries — he hasn’t played a Test yet in New Zealand. In fact, out of his five tons before landing here, all had come in the subcontinent — four in India and one in Bangladesh.
Despite being hailed as the one to take forward the great Virat Kohli’s legacy, Gill has just two fifties with a best score of 91 in 6 Tests in Australia, which is ordinary given the hype around him.