Shubman Gill is all set to begin his Test captaincy stint with the tour of England, set to begin from June 20 at Headingley. The five-match series will also mark the start of India’s WTC cycle.
The 25-year-old has been named India’s new Test skipper following the retirement of Rohit Sharma last month.
Ahead of his maiden assignment, veteran England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler heaped praise on Gill, saying that India’s new Test captain is a mix of his predecessors -- Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Buttler, who played under Gill in this year's IPL for Gujarat Titans, said the latter will need to strike a balance between his leadership role and batting.
"He's a really impressive player and an impressive young man," Buttler said on his podcast 'For The Love of Cricket' alongside former England pacer Stuart Broad.
"He's pretty calm and measured when he speaks, but (it's) interesting, I feel like on the field he's got a bit of fight about him; a bit of intensity, quite passionate. I think he'll be a mix of Kohli and Rohit.
"Kohli (was) that sort of real aggressive (character), really transformed the Indian team, in your face, up for the contest. Rohit was a bit on the other side, a bit more laid back, very cool, calm, collected customer, but with that sort of fight," he added.
Buttler expects Gill to "be a bit in the middle". "He's obviously learned from those two guys… but he'll be very much his own man," he stated.
The former England white-ball skipper reckons job of leading India in Test cricket is like being a "third or fourth-most influential people" in the country.
"He talked about compartmentalising batting and captaining; so when he's batting he just wants to be a batter, and then he will try and work on his captaincy and try and separate the two roles," Buttler said.
"I don't think we can quite understand the level of interest and the stardom that these guys have. You see it around the IPL, you're aware of it, but actually living that yourself... I think they say the Indian Test captain is like the third or fourth-most influential person in India, behind the Prime Minister, so you really are put up on that pedestal.
"(There are a) one-and-half billion people, all cricket-mad, so it's going to be a huge job for him. Kohli is the king, Shubman is the prince: that's the narrative that they spin out there, and I feel that he's the coming man...Stepping into that No. 4, it's big shoes, isn't it?"
On a separate note, Buttler said the level of competitiveness in IPL, given its unique window, makes some of the teams in the cash-rich league as good as international teams.
"I would say some teams would compete well, they are just as good as international teams. I think (a) Mumbai Indians XI had nine or 10 players who had played international cricket and they are just not any odd internationals either.
"Obviously, the window the IPL has, there is no competition from international cricket, it has got its own designated window. All the best players in the world are available, all the local Indian talent where the depth is just growing and growing and growing," he remarked.
(With PTI Inputs)
