Shubman Gill will begin his Test captaincy stint with the tour of England next month.
Shubman Gill has been handed the Test captaincy as India embark on a new World Test Championship cycle with the England tour, due to start on June 20 in Leeds.
India’s Test captaincy post was vacant after Rohit Sharma’s sudden retirement from the longest format earlier this month.
Even though Jasprit Bumrah had led India in a couple of Test matches in Rohit’s absence during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25, the selectors put their faith on Gill for the leadership role with Rishabh Pant being named his deputy.
Reacting to the development, former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara said it will be a challenge for Shubman to captain India in tough English conditions but a big opportunity and confidence booster for him if he achieves success as a leader in the marquee series.
"When you go abroad as a captain, whether you are young or matured, it will be challenging. To start off in England, it won't be easy for Shubman but it's a great opportunity for a young player. If he leads well in England it will boost his confidence.
"The reason he has been given the responsibility ahead of Jasprit Bumrah is because we are hearing that Bumrah will not be able to play all five Test matches," Pujara said on Sunday (May 25) during an online interaction organised by Sony Sports network, the official broadcaster of India's tour of England.
"So if Shubman has been given the responsibility, the team management and selectors are thinking that he could lead the team for a long time."
Since making his Test debut in 2020, Shubman Gill has played 32 matches, scoring 1893 runs at an average of 35.05. However, his numbers aren’t quite impressive in overseas conditions.
So far, the classy right-hander has amassed 559 runs in 13 Tests across SENA countries and the West Indies, averaging just 25 with only two half-centuries in 24 innings.
Pujara suggested Gill to keep captaincy and his batting separate. "There is also a lot of responsibility on him as a batter but I'm sure the kind of talent he has he will be successful in England. It will definitely motivate him to perform well. I don't know whether being a captain it will bring the best out of him but as a batter he has always tried to perform well for the team.
"When you are playing as a batter at the highest level you never think about whether you are a captain or a player, you always want to do well for the team. You need to keep it separate, when you are batting in the middle, you need to think as batter rather than thinking about captaincy," Pujara said.
Pujara reckons the responsibility of captaincy won't affect Gill's batting approach, which is aggressive.
"I don't think his batting approach will change, he has to bat the way he bats. He is an aggressive player, he likes to play his shots and he has to continue playing his shots but at the same time he needs to understand the English conditions and figure out who is the right bowler to take on," he said.
Pujara backed the decision to name Rishabh Pant as vice-captain despite the wicketkeeper-batter's poor form of late.
"Bumrah is out of contention for captain or vice-captain's role and that's the reason Pant has been given the vice-captaincy.
"He is out of form in the T20 format but in Test cricket he has been one of the best batters. His record in England has been really good in the past and he is capable enough to repeat those brilliant knocks," he said.
Pujara wants KL Rahul and Yashavi Jaiswal to continue as openers, while suggesting the names of Karun Nair and Abhimanyu Easwaran for the next spot.
"The openers who batted in Australia in BGT (Border-Gavskar Trophy) series -- KL Rahul and Yashavi, they should continue. Now talking about no.3, at this stage we don't know whether Shubman will bat there or drop down to No.4.
"If Shubman bats at No.4, then someone like Abhimanyu Eshwaran or Karun Nair could be a good fit at that position but I would still like to see Shubman batting at No.3," he said.
"Someone like Karun who has done very well in domestic cricket, I think ideal position for Karun would be No.4. If Shubaman bats at No.3, then Karun Nair comes at No.4. If Shubman bats at No.4, then at no. 3 it would be a choice between Abhimanyu Eshwaran or Sai Sudharsan."
(With PTI Inputs)