CHENNAI: Being an Indian Test captain is a tough job. One look at the list of players who held the responsibility as full-time skipper in this century will say as much. Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar.... you get the drift.
Every one of them has had their share of ups and downs. There were varied reasons why they were handed the job but more often than not, it has been because they were the best batter in the team at the time. Sometimes it works out great as in the case of Kohli. And sometimes, it doesn't like Tendulkar who resigned before Ganguly took over. Rohit was handed the Test captaincy after taking over in other two formats, predominantly because of his leadership and tactical nous in the Indian Premier League.
Gill, on the other hand, was looked at as India's best batting talent when he was named the skipper following his predecessor's retirement last year. And immediately, he announced his arrival with the bat in England. Since then, he has shown signs of growth as captain and leader, quietly making this team his own. And with the bat, he averages 73.33 as captain, amassing 1100 runs in 10 Tests. In comparison, he had 1893 runs to show in 32 Tests at 35.05 before becoming one.
But the thing about being a Test captain is that running alone is not enough. Results are paramount. Gill got injured in Kolkata and India lost 0-2 to South Africa. Which is why, the Sri Lanka tour held significance for Gill the batter. Though India won the Test in Galle, the skipper's returns — 16 and 8 — would not have made him happy. And he would want to make amends and play an impactful knock over the next week in Colombo.
Former national selector Saba Karim believes Gill is very much aware of his role as a batter. "Hugely important for a young captain, more so if he is a batter to keep working on his primary skill which is batting. Gill is well aware of that. If you notice his performance, once he became a captain, has grown many fold. It goes to show that he still believes that for him to keep scoring runs on a consistent basis is highly important for his team's success and also for his growth as a captain," Karim told this daily in an interaction facilitated by Sony Sports Network.
"I have said this on so many occasions that for a young leader, they need to keep working on their primary skill all the time. At times it does happen, maybe one year, two year, three year down the line and the captains see that they tend to get overtly consumed by captaincy. That is when the focus from their primary skill shifts and I hope that does not happen with Gill. He does have a good set of people around him to keep reminding him that he has become a captain because of his batting performance. It is not because of his captaincy skill at a junior level or at a lower level that they have made him the captain. I think he still has to keep believing in that. He didn't have a very good game but I do expect him to come back strongly in Colombo for the second Test match," Karim added.
Come Sunday, Gill will want to stamp his authority with the bat and lead from the front for India to finish series on a high.
Watch India tour of Sri Lanka starting August 15, 2026, from 10 AM IST live on Sony Sports Ten 1 SD & HD & Sony LIV
