New Delhi: At the start of the year, Shubham Gill, for all his talent, wasn’t always making the India playing XI. His potential was never in doubt but there were clearly other considerations. Now, in the space of five months, he has been named as Test and ODI captain.
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India captain Shubman Gill.. (Hindustan Times)
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And that call brings with a whirlwind of attention that can throw off the best if their base isn’t sorted already. The core principle of captaincy is simple: get the team
India at home versus West Indies.
So how is the challenge as a captain different?
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“The challenge is to stay on top for 5 days in a Test match, and that is more difficult than captaining in a T20 game, whereas in a T20 game you get off to a really good start, and then you maintain that, then you are sort of able to be on top of the game for the entirety of the game.”
And to guide him in the initial stage of his captaincy reign, he has Gautam Gambhir. They are both new to their respective jobs and that perhaps will give them space to find ways to be on the same page.
“Our relation is really good,” said Gill. “It’s very simple actually, we always start up conversations around how we can make the players feel more secure, and what kind of combinations that we can play. We, sort of, want to look at 18 or 15 member squad, where we are picking constantly players from that bunch and from that squad, and one of the key things that we discuss is how we can build up fast bowlers, we have a pool of good fast bowlers, and we want to be able to keep recruiting them, so that they get enough opportunities, come whenever we tour South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.”
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That is partly the reason why the team is desperately looking for a seam-bowling allrounder. Hardik Pandya would have fit the bill in terms of skills but his body hasn’t backed him up. The challenge for Nitish Reddy seems to be a similar one.
Gill, however, wants to back the talent he sees. He wants to give them time to come good.
“You have to give young players more opportunities, they are still trying to figure out their game. And, I really believe that we have to, we have to see someone’s first potential, and then see their game in the entirety, and not just judge someone from 1-4 matches.
“Once you have given someone enough matches, say 6-8 matches, then you can sit back and, you know, have a think over it, where he needs to learn, or if he needs to, you know, play some more domestic matches, or play some more India games.”
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His answer to a question about describing his own style of captaincy showed that the Gill era won’t be defined by brashness. “I think if you ask this question to some of my teammates, they would be able to answer it better. Because from my perspective, I think I am just doing what I think is best for the team, so I don’t know how to answer it.”
For now, he’s content finding all the right answers on the field. For now, that is his way.
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