Shubman Gill, the sardar of Edgbaston

In the course of cricket history, the pressure of captaincy at the Test match level sometimes affects an individual’s batting form, while others remain immune to it.

But a few blossom blazingly under the burden.

Shubman Gill — on the evidence of his performance in his first two Tests as India’s skipper — belongs to that rare species.

In his debut at the helm, that too on the England grounds that traditionally assist fast bowlers, Gill has amassed his two most voluminous centuries in the five-day format, including a majestic 269 on the second day of the ongoing second Test in Edgbaston — and the first double hundred by an Indian captain in England.

Until he exited to a tired, half-hearted pull to midwicket, it didn’t look like England possessed an answer to his ascendancy — such was his mastery.

Punjab, since the Indian independence, has produced wizards in hockey, notably among Sikhs; not so much geniuses in cricket. Brothers A.G. Kripal and A.G. Milka Singh, settled in Chennai, both played for India though. The former in fact notched a hundred on his maiden Test appearance.

Bishan Singh Bedi commenced his career in Punjab, but subsequently migrated to Delhi. A classical left-arm spinner, he earned the distinction of becoming the first Sikh to skipper India.

Navjot Singh Sidhu, a resident Punjabi, covered himself in glory as an opening batsman, while Jasprit Bumrah, who grew up in Gujarat and is presently India’s — and the world’s — most incisive bowler, has led his country, and indeed, won a Test in this capacity at Perth.

Before freedom from the British Raj and the Partition of India, Maharaja Bhupendrasingh of Patiala was both a patron of cricket and a player.

He was a prime mover in establishing the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Cricket Club of India (CCI). He led an unofficial Indian team to England in 1911 and was appointed to steward the squad for India’s first official Test at Lord’s in 1932, but fell ill and was replaced by Maharaja Natwarsinhji of Porbandar. Much to the credit of this second maharaja — who was limited as a cricketer — he refrained from playing in the match and left the honour of leading the side to C.K. Nayudu.

Kapurthala-born Lala Amarnath recorded a three-figure innings in his very first appearance for India — in what was also the inaugural official Test on the Subcontinent — in 1933. He proceeded to become the first Punjabi to captain India on a tour of Australia in 1947–48.

And now, the third Sikh after Bedi and Bumrah — in this case someone very much from the heartland of the ‘Land of Five Rivers’ — to wear the mantle of India’s captaincy is Gill.

As vice-captain to Prithvi Shaw in the 2018 Under-19 World Cup, he finished the competition as Player of the Tournament as India lifted the trophy.

However, ahead of his current visit to England, he had promised much as a Test batsman, without quite rendering justice to his talent. Indeed, he arrived this time at the home of the sport with a modest career batting average of around 35 — and a rather grim one of 14.66 in his three previous tests on English soil.

He plainly had a considerable amount to prove.

The Indian selectors could have permitted him the luxury of finding his feet in Tests abroad while grooming him for the top job by appointing him vice-captain. Instead, they threw him into the deep end.

He has certainly responded with breathtaking batsmanship.

A technical excellence of immaculately getting behind the ball when needed, and not just nibbling at deliveries outside the off-stump — and unhurried, the hallmark of a special exponent.

There’s an ease and elegance about his wielding of the willow that separates him from most others in his generation. It’s the languid grace Dilip Vengsarkar and V.V.S. Laxman exuded.

Admittedly, in his two outings this summer, he hasn’t really been put to the test by swing and seam movement, as one normally would be in England. The weather has been unusually dry and sunny.

Therefore, one should reserve final judgement.

Moreover, Gill does need to demonstrate the same dominance on the harder and bouncier tracks of Australia and especially South Africa, not to mention the firmer greenish wickets of New Zealand.

As for captaincy, you are generally only as good as your bowlers — unless you have the ability to conjure a rabbit out of a hat when handed limited resources. So, time will tell if his cricketing brain is as good as his batting prowess.  

Ashis Ray can be followed @ashiscray on X