Gautam Gambhir, Ajit Agarkar just want me to be able to express myself as a leader: Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill was recently appointed as India's Test captain, replacing Rohit Sharma, who stepped away from the longest format of the game on May 7. The Punjab batter is set to take charge during India's upcoming five-match Test series against England in the United Kingdom.

Ahead of the eagerly anticipated series, Shubman said that there is neither any pressure nor expectations that head coach Gautam Gambhir and BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar have of him as he takes up a new role, which comes with its own set of challenges.

While speaking to former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik, Shubman Gill said that the Gambhir-Agarkar duo wants him to express himself as a leader. The 25-year-old is willing to live to live up to his own expectations, both as a captain as well as a player.

"The expectations I've had this conversation numerous times with Gauti bhai and Ajit bhai. They just want me to be able to express myself as a leader. That's what they've told me 'there are no expectations'. They are not expecting me to do something I am not capable of. In terms of that, I don't think that there are any expectations or pressure from them, but you definitely have some kind of expectations from yourself as a leader and a player. So those are the expectations that I have from myself, but not from them," Gill said while speaking to Karthik on Sky Sports.

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I would like to build culture where everyone is secure and happy: Gill

Furthermore, Shubman Gill mentioned that apart from guiding India to silverware, his primary goal would be to help establish an atmosphere in the team where players would be secure and happy.

"Apart from all the silverware and trophies aside, I would ideally like to build a culture where everyone is very secure and happy. I know it can be a very difficult environment, especially with all the competition or the number of matches that we play and different squads coming in, but if I am able to do that, that would be my goal," Gill concluded.

The right-handed batter has led India in five T20Is so far. The Men in Blue beat Zimbabwe 4-1 in the one-sided tour in 2024.