Shubman Gill told 'earn respect of dressing room' before captaining India: 'His SENA record is nothing to be proud of'
Shubman Gill has been asked to de-prioritise captaincy and instead win the locker room trust. And there's only one way he can do it.
Shubman Gill is just 25 and finds himself in the hot seat of captaincy in Indian cricket. However, it's almost as if people don't want to give him a chance. Even before he could make his Test captaincy debut, fans have considered him a failure. Why? Because he's your next best option? Rohit Sharma has retired; he isn't coming back. As has Virat Kohli. And Jasprit Bumrah cannot be trusted to play all five Test matches due to his fragile back. In such a scenario, if the BCCI is grooming someone young, who can be Indian cricket's leader in the future, what's the harm?
None if you ask us. Then again, Gill knows how big the responsibility is, especially given the fact that his first assignment as India's full-time captain is without three stalwarts – Kohli, Rohit and Ravichandran Ashwin – and in a country where India haven't won a Test series in 18 years. Another reason why people have started discarding Gill is his record away from India. In 13 overseas Tests, Gill has scored just 349 runs, with his only century coming in Bangladesh. When those numbers are filtered further to South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia, they plummet even further.
Which is why, with four days to go for the first ball to be bowled in Headingley, former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik urged Gill to set his priorities straight. Karthik expects Gill to focus more on his batting, and earn the respect of the dressing room first, before getting himself burdened too much with decision-making.
"First, a bit of information that I would like to give Shubman Gill is put your captaincy hat on only while fielding. Allow the coaches to do your thing behind doors, focus on your batting. It's imperative for Shubman Gill to score to have the respect in that dressing room. It’s out there. In SENA countries, as an Indian batter, his average is something he is not going to be proud of," Karthik said on SKY Sports.
"He needs to get runs in that first Test itself so that he doesn't put more pressure on himself walking into that next Test. Be the best batter you can be. Captaincy will come. There's enough and more players who could help you – KL [Rahul], Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah who've all led Indian team at different points in time to guide you. But with the batting, it's completely up to you."
'Gill is entering a Lion's Den'
On paper, England are the obvious favourites, with India lacking experience and stuff like that. Then again, realistically looking at it, England are down on it as well. Australia and England are two countries where careers come to an end, but thankfully for this Indian team, for most, they are just getting started. Karthik asserted that Gill hasn't quite understood just how big a deal captaining the Indian Test team is, let alone in a place like England, where the swinging Duke ball could become a nightmare for the touring team.
"I really don’t think he has realised the enormity of what it means to be the Test captain for India as of now. He is walking into the lion’s den. Coming to England as a cricketing nation is not easy. There have been many a team with superstars who have come in and have found it really, really hard," Karthik said.
"Luckily for Shubman Gill, I think the England bowling attack is very vulnerable. That is the only positive I see. They are going to be put under pressure with the bat. When I say bat, I mean England’s batting will definitely put the Indian team under pressure. The bowling is an area that is still a work in progress for England, and that could very well play into India’s hands."
