‘We have thrown you in the deep sea’ - Gautam Gambhir reveals tough conversation with Shubman Gill before handing Test captaincy

Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir recalled his first conversation with Shubman Gill after the batter was appointed India’s Test captain ahead of the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in England. India returned a promising 2-2 draw in the five-match series, marking a solid start to Gill’s tenure as red-ball skipper. Gambhir revealed that he had told Gill at the outset that his Test captaincy career could go either way.

Gill was entrusted with the captaincy over more experienced players such as Jasprit Bumrah and KL Rahul, who had led the team sporadically in the past. The England tour posed a significant challenge, as Gill had to lead a team in transition while managing Bumrah’s limited availability due to workload considerations. Despite these hurdles, India recorded historic wins at Edgbaston and The Oval, providing a strong foundation for their 2025–27 World Test Championship (WTC) campaign.

"I remember the entire conversation. I told him one thing very clearly, that we have thrown you in the deep sea, and there are only two outcomes from here: either you will drown or you will become world-class. For me, the 750-odd [754] runs he scored in England does not matter much. If he had not scored those in that tour, he would have scored it in the next tour, that is his quality," Gambhir said on JioHotstar.

"What mattered for me was the way a 25-year-old kid, with a young team, handled himself and his captaincy, [and] the pressure over there against a quality England side. Because I don't think there will be a more difficult test than that in his captaincy career, whether he leads for 10 years, 15 years, or 2 years. I don't think any captain in India has had such a challenge, over a span of 2 months, considering how intimidating England's batting was, and how inexperienced our team was," Gambhir added.

The former Indian opener recalled telling Gill that the most challenging series was now behind him, and he could look forward to relatively easier matches in the future.

"He has passed his most difficult test, and I told him after we won at The Oval, I told him that he just passed his most difficult test in the transition, and from here on, things will be much easier. I hope they get easier for him because he deserves every bit of it. The amount of criticism he has received, the kind of things people have said about him, it has been unfair. You can't expect a 25-year-old kid to have an average of 50, and score every time everywhere. That will only happen over time. The kind of potential he has, I was never shocked that he scored 750 runs in England," Gambhir said.

The England tour saw all five matches stretch to the fifth day, with several heated moments and off-field challenges that Gill had to navigate. The 26-year-old was involved in a major on-field altercation with Zak Crawley during the third Test at Lord’s, and the tour was marked by numerous instances of sledging and intense exchanges.

"There were moments where I was under pressure, the support staff was under pressure, and more than us, he [Gill] was under pressure on the field. But, I don't think so in those 25 days, I saw a single moment where he showed that frustration or the pressure on his face," Gambhir concluded.