Newly appointed Indian men’s Test team captain Shubman Gill said that former captains Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have given the team the “blueprint to win” Test series away from home.
On Saturday, the 25-year-old was appointed India’s captain in Tests. His assignment is a five-Test series against England.
“(The) guys like Rohit bhai, Virat bhai and Ashwin bhai (Ravichandran Ashwin)… they have given us a blueprint on how to tour away from home and win matches and series,” Gill said in a video released by the BCCI on Sunday.
“Yes, it’s one thing to be able to deliver and execute, but because we have that blueprint, we know how to tour away from home and win matches and series,” he added.
While both Rohit and Kohli have shown different styles of leading the team, Gill said that they were also quite similar in some ways.
“When I was a kid, I was always inspired by the great and the legends of Indian cricket and (I’ve) been very fortunate to be able to play with so many of them, be it Virat bhai or Rohit bhai,” he said.
“Both were very contrasting in terms of their style, but it was very inspiring to see both of them working towards a common goal. You want to be able to win as a captain, and your styles can be different, but they were very different, but also similar in their own sense,” he added.
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“Virat bhai was always very aggressive, always wanting to lead from the front with hunger and passion, whereas Rohit Bhai was also aggressive. You might not see that in his reaction or expression, but he was also someone who was always very attacking on the field,” Gill said.
“Rohit bhai was someone who was very calm and tactically always very present, and he was very communicative to the players, what he wants from the players, and so these are the qualities that I learnt from,” he added.
Speaking about his approach as captain, Gill said that he will look to keep both his batting and leadership duties segregated, adding said it was “overwhelming” to be appointed the Test captain as well as a “big responsibility”.
“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.”
“Definitely being captain is a bit overwhelming,” he said.
Speaking about his guiding the lot, Gill added that his plan would be to not only lead by example but also give his players their own space.
“I believe in leading by example — not just by performance, but I think off the field (as well) by discipline and hard work,” he concluded.
(With inputs from PTI)
