Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had “very contrasting styles” of leadership, but the two iconic players, along with spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, have given the Indian team the “blueprint to win” Test series away from home, says new Indian Test skipper Shubman Gill.
Gill was on Saturday appointed India’s captain in Tests. The first assignment for the 25-year-old is a five-Test series in England where he won’t have stalwarts like Kohli and Rohit in the line-up. “Rohit bhai, Virat bhai and Ashwin bhai have given us a blueprint on how to tour away from home and win matches and series,” Gill said in a video released by the BCCI on Sunday. “Yes, 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,” he said.
Gill said that while Kohli and Rohit had contrasting styles of leadership, they were also quite similar in style. “When I was a kid, I was always inspired by the greats of Indian cricket and I’ve been very fortunate to be able to play with so many of them,” he said.
“It was very inspiring to see both of them working towards a common goal. Virat bhai was always very aggressive, always wanting to lead from the front with hunger and passion, and so was Rohit bhai. You might not see that in his reaction or expression, but he was always very attacking on the field,” Gill said.
“Rohit bhai was someone very calm and tactically always very present, and he was very communicative to the players on what he wants from them. So these are the qualities that I learnt from,” the Indian Test skipper added.
Often the burden captaincy affects batting, but Gill said his approach would be to keep both segregated. “One thing that I learnt was that if I am a batsman and batting out there, I want to be able to make decisions as a batsman and not as a captain,” he said. "If I start thinking about other things, it just puts more pressure on me, which is not required because when you are 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 a batsman.”
“Definitely, it is a bit overwhelming,” he said. “As a young kid when anyone starts playing cricket, they want to play for India and not just play cricket for India, but play Test cricket for India for a very long time. To be able to get this opportunity is a great honour and like you said, it's a big responsibility. I’m looking forward for this exciting opportunity and I think the upcoming series in England is going to be very exciting one.”
Gill said his captaincy philosophy would be to not only lead by example, but also give his players their own space. “I believe in leading by example, not just by performance. I think off the field as well,” he said. “As a captain, a leader should be able to know when to step in, but also when to give space to the players. It is always exciting to have those conversation with players to be able to know them on a deeper level than just cricket because then you are really able to know how to get the best out of them.”
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