Gill wants to build a secure, happy Indian team

Test captain says he derives inspiration from Rohit, Kohli.

Someone who never dreamt of leading the national cricket team, India’s new Test skipper Shubman Gill has set himself the goal of creating a team culture where every player is “secure and happy.”

A transitional India will search for their maiden Test series victory in England since 2007, and the first match is scheduled to take place at Leeds on June 20.

“It was like, not even in my dreams, I thought I wanted to be the captain of the Indian cricket team. So, apart from all the silverware and trophies aside, I really would like to build a team culture where everyone is very secure and happy,” Gill told Sky Sports.

But Gill knew that the task ahead was easier said than done.

“I know it can be a very difficult environment, especially with all the competition and the number of matches that we play, different squads coming in. But if I’m able to do that, I think that would be my goal,” he added.

“So, keeping a secure environment and making the player feel secure in his abilities and his capabilities I feel is one of the most important things that a leader has to do.”

Gill acknowledged that Rohit Sharma, who retired from Test cricket on May 7, had laid out a clear path for him.

“It can seem like he is not aggressive, but Rohit is very aggressive in terms of his tactics. He is someone who is very clear with his communication prior to the matches, during the series and even after the series, what he wants from the players.”

Gill said he wanted to follow the path of his predecessor Rohit, who had always put the team ahead of individuals.

“The kind of environment Rohit bhai kept, even if Rohit bhai is swearing at you, you would not take it to your heart. That’s just kind of his personality. I think that’s a great trait to have.

“He’s firm, but even if he’s being hard on you, you know that it’s not coming from his heart. It’s coming from a team perspective,” added Gill.

The 25-year-old said he had a conversation with Rohit on the road ahead for the team. “This is a conversation that I’ve had with Rohit bhai a couple of times that ideally in the next 5, 7 or 10 or 15 years, where would we want the Indian cricket team culture to be?”

Gill also said he learned so much from the “proactive” leadership of Virat Kohli.

“When I played under Virat, I think his proactiveness in Test matches — with the field or with the ideas or with his thinking — was something that I liked and that I picked up. If he thinks that, okay, this plan is not working, he would immediately have another plan, communicate to the bowler what he wants from them,” he noted.

Gill’s crisis management ability will be put to test when he will have to decide on the workload of premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah.

“It’s more based on match to match and see how much workload there has been on him. That’s what we are trying to look at. You need to see how much workload he had in this particular match.”