New Delhi: Shubman Gill is aware that becoming India’s Test skipper comes with added pressure and responsibility that often becomes an impediment for batters to play to their potential.
Hence he is keen to segregate the two roles when he begins his stint in England in a five-match Test series after being appointed successor to Rohit Sharma.
Gill has scored 1893 runs in 59 innings of 32 Tests at an average of 35, including five centuries and seven fifties. His overseas record is even more ordinary, with only 716 runs in 15 matches at an average of 27.54 with one century and two half centuries.
He has featured in only one five-day match in England where he scored 36 runs at an average of 18. The 25-year-old became India’s fifth youngest skipper and his only hundred overseas was in Bangladesh in December 2022.
“One thing that I learnt was (that) if I am a batsman and batting out there, I want to be able to make decisions as a batsman and not as a captain,” he said.
“If I start thinking about other things, it just puts more pressure on me which is not required because when you are batting out there, you want to be able to take those risks, you want to be able to make decisions that you would make when you are playing just as a batsman.
“Because that gives you the freedom (and) that is one of the things that I learnt that whenever I am getting out there, I just want to be able to make decisions as a batsman and not really want to think that ‘oh I am the captain’.”
Gill acknowledged it was huge responsibility to lead the red-ball team following the retirement of Sharma and Virat Kohli.
“Definitely (it is) a bit overwhelming. As a young kid when anyone starts playing cricket, they want to play for India and not just play cricket for India, but play Test cricket for India for a very long time.
“To be able to get this opportunity is a great honour and like you said, it’s a big responsibility. I’m looking forward for this exciting opportunity and I think the upcoming series in England is going to be very exciting one,” he said.
Hands-on skipper
Speaking of his captaincy philosophy, the top-order batter said he would look to be an inclusive captain who would try to lead by example.
“I believe in leading by example — not just by performance, but I think off the field (as well) by discipline and hard work,” he said.
“As a captain, a leader should be able to know when to step in, but also when to give space to the players because everyone has kind of had a different life and grown-up differently
“Everyone is a different personality and a good leader should always be able to know what makes his place, to be able to have the best performance or the best outcome, that is always exciting,” he added.
He continued, “To be able to have those conversation with the players, to be able to know them on a deeper level than just cricket because then you are really able to know what can get the best out of them.”
Shubman Gill begins his India captaincy stint in England in a five-match Test series after being appointed successor to Rohit Sharma. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
