Yograj Singh, Yuvraj Singh's father, believes his son deserves all the credit after Shubman Gill was announced as India's next Test captain. On Saturday, Ajit Agarkar, the chairman of selectors, confirmed Gill as the next Test captain. The 25-year-old's first assignment will be the upcoming five-match series against England.
Speaking about Yuvraj, Yograj labelled his son as the “greatest cricketing brain”, saying the former India batter taking Gill under his wings played a huge role in the youngster developing the way he did and eventually becoming India's Test captain.
After Rohit Sharma's Test retirement, the jury was out regarding who should be India's next captain. Several pundits suggested Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant's names. However, the selectors seemed to have planned for the future and went with Gill for the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
Gill's numbers overseas aren't that great and it needs to be seen how he takes captaincy in his stride. The five-match series against England will definitely be a trial by fire as Gill gets ready to lead a reasonably young team in the UK.
"The credit for Shubman Gill's performance goes to his father and Yuvraj Singh. If Shubman Gill has become the captain today and will stay for a long time, Yuvraj Singh's guidance will play and has played an essential role in that," Yograj told news agency ANI.
{{/usCountry}}"The credit for Shubman Gill's performance goes to his father and Yuvraj Singh. If Shubman Gill has become the captain today and will stay for a long time, Yuvraj Singh's guidance will play and has played an essential role in that," Yograj told news agency ANI.
{{/usCountry}}"Someone like Yuvraj Singh, the greatest cricketing brain in the world, taking Gill under his wing is a big thing," he added.
Gill's impressive captaincy for Gujarat Titans in the IPL
Shubman Gill has impressed one and all with his captaincy for Gujarat Titans in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. His team has already qualified for the playoffs and is gunning for a spot in the top two.
Gill's bat has also done the talking as he has scored more than 600 runs this season. The right-hander would hope to carry on with this form in the upcoming Test series against England, which begins June 20.
The five-match series will be played at venues such as Leeds, Edgbaston, Lord's Cricket Ground, Manchester, and The Oval.
The series between India and England will mark the beginning of the new WTC cycle. This is the first series without both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and it remains to be seen how the team performs without two of its most senior players.
Rohit and Virat had announced their Test retirements earlier this month after disastrous tour of Australia, where India lost 1-3.