NEW DELHI: What kind of a captain does Shubman Gill want to be? When he was asked this in the pre-match press conference ahead of the second Test, he said his team-mates would be in a better position to answer the query. "I don't know how to answer this," the six-Test skipper said.
He's still a fledgling when it comes to skippering the side but there's already enough body of work to suggest he's already growing into a leader the team will happily get behind. He's happy to back his players, give them a long rope and make short-term adjustments keeping in mind some of the longer-term dynamics.
Two examples stand out. You can kind of argue that Nitish Kumar Reddy, set to play a second Test on the trot in India, may not necessarily figure in their strongest XI in these conditions. But the 26-year-old wants to give the seam-bowling allrounder sufficient gametime now rather than just throwing him in the deep end in assignments away from home. "There have been conversations around that (playing a third seaming all-rounder)," he said. "Especially in the next year and a half, we aren't playing a lot of games away from India. So, to be able to back a guy who can bowl 10-15 overs in a day and can bat as well... we saw how he batted in Australia so there is definitely a lot of potential and ability. We think it would be unfair on the guy if we are only playing him overseas because that doesn't really give him that much opportunity."
He also came out in support of B Sai Sudharsan. "You have to give young players more opportunities," he said. "You have to see someone's game in their entirety and not just judge someone based on one or two or three games. As of now, I think he's the man for us and he's someone who can play for India and Tamil Nadu for a very long time."
These are the sort of public proclamations that can do a world of good to players who are just about beginning to learn the game's grammar with respect to this format.
Indian captains, at least of late, have tried to build teams in their own image. While Virat Kohli was all about bringing the firebrand, Rohit Sharma's reign was a more laissez-faire approach to proceedings. Gill, who started his life under Kohli's captaincy but blossomed into an all-format superstar under Sharma, wants to take a leaf out of the latter's book. "The calmness of Rohit bhai and the friendships that he created among the group," Gill said when asked about former captains. "I want to imbibe that."
On the field, he has been able to display some kind of foresight for a captain who has had fewer than 30 days on the job. Test matches in India usually have a set pattern where spinners are predominantly in operation in the post lunch session. Post lunch on Days 1 and 3 in Ahmedabad, Gill kept pace from one end. His reasoning? "Just after lunch," he said, "it's an easy option to start with the spinners... there could be a situation in the second match where the ball is reversing and there isn't much happening from the wicket. So how do you get wickets from that situation? What would be our plans against West Indies here or playing against South Africa... maybe we are fielding first and the ball isn't spinning much. So, I see how you can build your plans if the situation is not good?"
He may be a young captain but you can see that the team has bought into him and his way of thinking. You only have to cast your mind back to that incendiary end to Day Three at Lord's in July when Gill had a go at the English openers for timewasting. The 26-year-old let Zak Crawley exactly what he thought of the situation but the young captain was backed up by colleagues both younger and older than him. This sort of two-way street is most important, especially for a leader who's still learning some of the finer points of captaining a team.
He also passed a big test on Thursday when he was asked about Sharma's and Kohli's ODI futures. "The experience they have and the number of matches they have won for India, there are very few players who have won these many matches for India," he said. "With such skill, quality and experience, there are very few players in the world. From that perspective, we are definitely looking at them for 2027." The question could have put the new ODI captain on the spot — it's not his place to address Sharma and Kohli's ODI futures — but he dealt with it with a straight bat.
Yes, he will have taken most of these decisions after consultations with Gautam Gambhir, Ajit Agarkar and the leadership group within the playing contingent. But the captain is also the most public face of the side, the one who will ultimately be held accountable.
Ultimately, though, that's what counts in the end. For all your ideology and personality, your worth as a captain, especially for a side like India, will be defined by the number of titles next to your name. "The last few months have been very exciting for me, but I’m really looking forward to what the future has," Gill said when asked to sum up his last few months.
"I want to stay as much possible in the present and don't really want to look back on what I've been able to achieve or what we, as a team, have been able to achieve. Just want to look forward and win everything that we have in the upcoming months."
