Gill’s composure on full display as he steps up to test captaincy challenge in first press conference as test skipper.
In his first press conference as India’s test captain, Gill’s composure was on full show as he embraces the challenge of being test skipper.
Gill communicated in a straightforward manner. No matter what kind of questions were directed at him, he appeared secure and assured while sitting next to the head coach, the tough-minded Gautam Gambhir. As India’s new Test captain, he made his maiden appearance in front of the media.
Gill wants to provide clarity and security to the dressing room for the five-Test tour of England, the same traits he displayed on the stage where chief selector Ajit Agarkar named him as Rohit Sharma’s replacement less than two weeks ago.
“There is no particular style of captaincy that I want to follow,” Gill said in Mumbai when asked about his idea of Test captaincy. “The more you play, the more experience you get. I think your personal style is more visible to the people. What I like is communication with the players, making the players feel secure, talking to them, giving them comfort around their weaknesses and strengths. There are many such things…forming a bond with the players is very important. If you are a captain of any team or a leader of any team, if your players feel very secure, only then they can give their 100%.
“I have played under some amazing and terrific leaders. Rohit bhai was very clear with his communication from what he wanted from the players. That was his great quality which I would want to inherit from him.
“So as a leader, as a captain, you definitely want to be able to lead by example, by your performance and any match that you play.”
In particular, after India suffered forgettable series losses – first at home against New Zealand and then away against Australia – that prevented them from qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) final, Gill, 25, has been given the “great challenge” to begin his captaincy journey with a “big tour” of England. Gill claimed to have been “quite overwhelmed” by the selectors’ choice to choose him captain, making him the youngest Test skipper since Ravi Shastri and India’s fifth-youngest overall.
“There is pressure on every tour,” Gill said, playing down the magnitude of the series that will start the new WTC cycle for India and England. “It’s tough to fill the gaps left by the experienced players who won us so many matches over the years. But there’s no different pressure as such. There’s pressure in every series and all the players are used to playing and trying to win under pressure. I think the combination of batting and bowling in our team is a very good mix of experience and talent.”