Over the past few days, Shubman Gill’s announcement as the Test captain of India has been the talking point of the entire town. The youngster, who is just 25 years old, has been handed over the reins of the captaincy and has an uphill task ahead of him in England.
This comes after veterans of the game, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, decided to hang up their boots from Test cricket. Both the cricketers have retired from this format and leave behind a massive void in the Indian Test team.
Former legendary captain and Test batter of India, Sunil Gavaskar, has opened up on Shubman Gill’s appointment as the captain. He has highlighted how Gill needs to command the respect of the rest of the team members.
“There is always pressure on the player who gets elected as India’s captain as there is a big difference between being a member of the team and being the captain. Because when you are a team member, you generally just interact with players close to you, but when you become the captain, you should behave in a way that the other players in the team respect you and a captain’s behaviour is more important than his performance,” said Sunil Gavaskar to Sports Tak.
India has named a pretty young Indian Test side for England
As the Indian cricket team is in a transition phase, it is imperative for the youngsters to own up responsibility. The selection panel of the Indian cricket team has not only named a young captain but has also invested heavily in youth.
The likes of Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sai Sudarshan have earned their maiden call-ups to the Test squad and there are high chances that they make their debuts. Karun Nair, who is the second Indian to hit a triple century in Tests, marks a comeback into the side.
As Mohammad Shami is unavailable for the series because of fitness concerns, the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj need to take up ownership in the series.
India lock horns with England in the 1st Test at Headingley from 20th June 2025.
