‘He hasn’t yet faced the worst days of captaincy’ – Gautam Gambhir on India skipper Shubman Gill

Ever since Shubman Gill took over as India Test captain, the team has won four out of seven matches, while losing just a couple of them. This includes drawing the five-match series against England 2-2, followed by a clean sweep of West Indies in the home series. However, head coach Gautam Gambhir believes that Gill hasn’t established himself as the captain just yet.

The head coach has opined that eventually, every captain becomes tougher with his mindset and leadership skills only when he goes through some really tough times. When Gill finds himself in hard waters, it will be a really testing phase for the 26-year-old, which will further prove if he is good enough to lead the Indian team.

“It’s still very early days—he has captained only a few Test matches so far. The most important quality I see is his ability to handle pressure and tough situations. Gill is very much a work in progress; he hasn’t yet faced the worst days of captaincy, which will inevitably come. It will test him personally and as a leader and I want to see how he responds when things don’t go his way,” Gambhir said via JioStar.

On his relationship with Gill, Gambhir has said that as long as he is the head coach of the team, he will always be available for protecting him. He further believes that he is also willing to absorb the pressure off the Indian skipper’s shoulders so that it doesn’t affect the team’s on-field performances and the dressing room atmosphere remains a healthy one.

“I’ve told him I’m always here to support, back, and protect him. My role as coach is to take the pressure and criticism off his shoulders, as long as he does the right things for the team and remains transparent and honest with the players inside the dressing room. That is the foundation for earning respect. So far, he has been absolutely brilliant—transparent, upfront, hardworking, and focused on doing the right things. What more can a coach ask of a captain who is willing to put everything on the line?” he added.

Notably, after a decent start to his Test captaincy, Gill has also been named as the new ODI captain, and will be beginning his journey for the Men in Blue with the upcoming series against Australia. The first ODI against Australia will be played on October 19 at the Optus Stadium in Perth. After completion of three 50-over matches, the two teams will compete in five T20Is, where Gill will be the vice-captain to Suryakumar Yadav.

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