India’s cricketing future officially began a new chapter as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named 25-year-old Shubman Gill the country’s new Test captain. The announcement came as part of India’s squad reveal for the highly anticipated five-match Test series against England, which also marks the beginning of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle.
Gill succeeds Rohit Sharma, who retired from Test cricket earlier this month, following Virat Kohli’s departure from the format just days earlier. The leadership transition hands Gill a massive opportunity—and a steep challenge—as India prepares to face Ben Stokes’ England side on their home turf.
Leadership philosophy: “Lead by example” on and off the field
In his first interview as Test captain with BCCI.tv, Gill reflected on the appointment with a mix of pride and humility.
“It is definitely a bit overwhelming. As a young kid when anyone starts playing cricket, they want to play for India and not just play for India, play Test cricket for a very long time.”
Gill acknowledged the magnitude of the role, saying:
“To be able to get this opportunity is a great honour and it’s a big responsibility. I’m looking forward to this exciting opportunity and the upcoming series against England is going to be an exciting one.”
While the pressure is high, Gill has a clear philosophy on leadership—one that prioritizes discipline, communication, and understanding his teammates as individuals.
“I believe in leading by example, not just by performance, but I think off the field by discipline and hard work. As a captain, a leader should be able to know when to step in and also when to give space to the players.”
“A good leader should always be able to know what makes his players be able to have the best performance or the best outcome.”
“That is always exciting to people to have those conversations with the players, to be able to know them on a deeper level than just cricket, you know, because then you’re really able to know what can get the best out of them.”
“Because everyone has had a different life and grown up differently, everyone has a different personality.”
Learning from Kohli, Rohit and Ashwin
Gill credits much of his captaincy mindset to the influence of his predecessors—Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin.
“When I was a kid, I was always inspired by the greats and the legends of Indian cricket and been very fortunate to be able to play with so many of them.”
“Be it Virat bhai or Rohit bhai, both were very contrasting in terms of the style, but it was very inspiring to see both of them working towards a common goal. You want to be able to win as a captain, and your styles can be different, but they both were very different, but also similar in their own sense.”
“Virat bhai was always very aggressive, always wanting to lead from the front with hunger and passion.”
“Rohit Bhai was someone who was very calm and technically, always very present, and he’s very communicative to the players, what he wants from the players. And so these are the qualities that I learned from them.”
“Guys like Virat bhai, Rohit bhai and Ashwin bhai, they have given us a blueprint on how to tour away from home and win matches and series.”
“It’s one thing to be able to deliver and execute, but because we have that blueprint, we know how to tour away from home and win matches and series.”
Batting vs captaincy: Keeping it clear
With the added responsibility of captaincy, Gill is mindful of maintaining clarity when he’s at the crease.
“One of the things that I learned was if I’m a batsman, I’m batting out there, I want to be able to make decisions as a batsman and not as a captain.”
“If I start thinking about other things, it just puts more pressure on me, which is not required, you know, because when you’re batting out there, you want to be able to take those risks.”
“You want to be able to make decisions that you would make when you are playing just as the batsman, because that gives you the freedom.”
This compartmentalized approach has served him well in the IPL, where he has led the Gujarat Titans with distinction—both as one of the league’s top scorers and a playoff-bound skipper.
England series looms large
India’s Test tour of England begins on June 20 at Headingley, with the final Test scheduled at The Oval from July 31 to August 4. This will be India’s first Test series in the new WTC cycle, and Gill’s first as captain.
The challenge is enormous. India have not won a Test series in England since 2007, and under Stokes, England have transformed into a formidable home side.
But Gill relishes the battle ahead.
“My favourite series that I played was also a five-Test match series when England came to India. There’s a different essence when you are playing a five-Test series. It’s long, it’s mentally and physically very challenging.”
“That’s the most exciting thing that I find about red-ball cricket. It’s not going to be easy, but I think we’re ready for any challenge.”
A symbolic start to India’s new Test era
With a new leadership core—Gill as captain and Rishabh Pant named vice-captain—India enters a transitional but promising phase in Test cricket. Backed by a strong IPL season and armed with lessons from legends, Shubman Gill steps into his biggest role yet with both realism and vision.
As Indian cricket’s youngest Test captain in over a decade, his performance in England will set the tone not just for a series, but possibly for a generation.
