'Leadership is important for me' - Shubman Gill's old statement resurfaces after India Test captain appointment

Shubman Gill has been named India's new Test captain following the retirement of Rohit Sharma. The 25-year-old batter, who made his Test debut at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2020, will lead the national team, beginning with the five-match Test series against England starting June 20, 2025.

Gill, who has led India in just five T20Is during a tour of Zimbabwe in 2024, will be in his first experience captaining the national side in the longest format of the game. The selectors' decision sees them back the youngster's potential over experience.

While Jasprit Bumrah had previously captained India in Rohit's absence, and Rishabh Pant was seen as a natural successor before his injury setback, it is Gill who has officially been given the duties. Notably, Pant has been named vice-captain for the England tour. After being appointed the skipper, the Punjab-born revealed the importance of leadership and the learnings from the past captains. 

"I think leadership is the first thing that you are on the ground, when the team is in a pressure situation, when the team is down, then how can you help your skill set? Whether it's batting or fielding, how can you take the environment of the team to get the team up? I think that all players come in every Test match, every One-Day or T20, when the team is down, the players are down, so how can you lift up your players? That's very important for me.

"I think leadership is important for me, whether they are in batting or fielding. And the other people who are good leaders, whether they are MS Dhoni or Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma, you get different learnings from each of them. All of them had different ways of captaining the side, which was unique. So they had their own qualities, and I have taken different learnings from each of them," he said in a video posted by Star Sports.

After a successful debut in Australia, the right-handed batter witnessed a form dip, with just three fifties in the following 17 Tests. However, his ODI performances in late 2022 and 2023 have helped him be seen as a match-winner. Post a poor tour of South Africa in 2023-24, Gill has had an emphatic run in the home series against England in early 2024, scoring two centuries and two fifties, followed by strong performances against Bangladesh and New Zealand on home assignments.
 
Notably, many factors led to his appointment. His calmness, tactical awareness, and passion for Test cricket impressed former head coach Rahul Dravid and the selectors, which has transpired into their successors as well. Despite minimal captaincy experience, the youngster has quickly come up the ranks. His work under Ashish Nehra at the Gujarat Titans in the IPL helped him develop leadership qualities off the field as well.