Shubman Gill: New Test captain has to be his own man under Gautam Gambhir

It’s official now: the Shubman Gill-Gautam Gambhir era has begun in Indian Test cricket from Saturday, 24 May. The powers that-be had made up their minds once Jasprit Bumrah had virtually opted out of the race with an eye on managing his workload – and there were no twists in the tale really at the much-awaited meeting at the BCCI House in Mumbai.

The journey of the 25-year-old gangly young man from Punjab to what they call the second most important role in the country after the PM in zest, had been nothing short of a dream. Barely seven years back, Shubman was a precocious talent who made his mark with the India Under-19 team which won the Junior World Cup under Prithvi Shaw’s captaincy. While the later is now in near oblivion, Shubman’s anointment as the crown prince of Indian cricket is now complete.

Now 25 years and 258 days old, Shubman is the fifth youngest cricketer to captain India in Tests. The youngest to captain India are Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi (21 years 77 days), Sachin Tendulkar (23 years 169 days), Kapil Dev (24 years 48 days) and Ravi Shastri (25 years 229 days).

The challenge before the new Test captain, who is also in line to take over the ODI captaincy from Rohit Sharma in due course (Shubman is the ODI vice-captain), is manifold. Yes, he has to strike a balance between his additional responsibility and be the anchor in the batting line-up at number four and marshall his resources in under pressure to give India a kickstart in the new cycle of World Test Championship (WTC) but more importantly – he has to learn to be his own man.

The last clause holds significance if one looks at the previous incumbents for the job – since 2014, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had been in charge of the Test squad barring exceptions like injury or ‘personal reasons’ when the likes of a Ajinkya Rahane or Bumrah had stepped in. Before that, it was the era of Mahendra Singh Dhoni – making up a rich legacy of strong minded individuals who made sure that the captain had the last word out in the middle.

They were, of course, largely in sync with the head coaches – barring an unsavoury spat between Kohli and Anil Kumble. Unlike football, it’s the captains who rule the roost in cricket and successful coaches had been content to play the backroom boys in recent times – unlike the current incumbent Gambhir who prefers to hold all the cards. The choice of Shubman, a composed, non-controversial individual with good game sense had been clearly the call of Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar – but then the former has to learn to solve his own problems fast.

In the run-up to the naming of captain, Rishabh Pant’s candidature came up despite his miserable form in the ongoing IPL before he has been nominated as the new vice-captain in the longer format. The argument in favour of Rishabh was quite a solid one in view of his superior record overseas record with the bat where he had touched the three-figure mark in South Africa, Australia and England multiple times at an average of 42.11, thanks to his 15 half-centuries and six centuries in 43 Tests, having debuted in England in 2018.       

Gill, if truth be told, has not yet realised his potential in SENA countries and is still a bit of work in progress as a Test batter. In 32 Tests so far, he has aggregated 1893 runs at an average of 35.05 on the back of seven half-centuries and five centuries. All of his centuries have come on home soil, while his average in SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) drops to under 17.

Perception problem

However, it could be the perception problem between Gill and Pant – with the former coming across as a more level headed individual and a better thinker of the game than the keeper-batter – which could have swung the verdict in favour of the Gujarat Titans skipper. Comparisons may be odious, but it reminds one of a parallel between Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh in the run-up to the white ball captaincy.

In hindsight, the Gill-Pant combination looks like a masterstroke though with an eye towards the future. It’s still early days to comment on what template Indian Test cricket will take in the coming cycle – whether it could be something pathbreaking like Kohli’s insistence on playing five bowlers and an accent on pace or falling back on spin for the home contests.

 Incidentally, a favourite catch phrase of Gambhir had been his vision to dismantle the so-called ‘superstar culture’ and build anew. The Mission Transition, which he and Gill has been entrusted with, begins now!