India vs England: Shubman Gill has more ‘clarity’ on captaincy now | Cricket News
London:Shubman Gill landed in England after having been given the Test captaincy at 25 years of age, without a proven Test record. A 2-2 scoreline after five gruelling Test matches and 754 runs at an average of 75.4 later, he has retained his poise. On the field, he is the quintessential in-your-face millennial Indian cricketer. Off it, he has been a departure from the norm.“There are moments like these where you feel the journey is worth it. You should be able to navigate through the highs and lows of life and try to stay balanced, irrespective of winning or losing. It’s difficult, but it’s a process. That’s the real journey,” Gill said calmly after India’s win here on Monday.There has been a clear attempt to not come across as an over-the-top cricketer. At the start of the tour, he did throw the gauntlet by declaring his wish to finish as the highest run-getter in the series. Now that he has done that by a fair distance, Gill himself mentioned his indifferent record before coming on the tour.“Each hundred that I scored had a different significance. In Leeds, I was under a bit of pressure after not being able to perform in this format. The double century and the second innings hundred in Birmingham helped to seal that match. And the one in Manchester, to be able to save that game from that situation was special. Each of them has a story and each of them means a lot to me,” Gill said.
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The journey as a batter has been fulfilling. As a captain, he acknowledges that he now has a better understanding of the areas he needs to work on. “I have more clarity where I personally need to work on as a captain,” Gill said before adding, “There will always be opinions in hindsight. What matters to me is I want to take the most probable decision in that moment.”
Gill defended the decision to play with three strike bowlers instead of four throughout the series. “You learn something new. From the first match, there were many things that I got to learn. A lot of people were thinking that I should have played a fourth fast bowler. Karun played instead of the fourth pacer and his half-century in the first inning was equally important for us. Opinions are made after the match,” he said.At various stages of the series, he has looked a bit lost as a captain. There were times when his deputy Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul would look more involved. On Monday, he looked in control. He had conversations with his two pacers after every ball. He left the field open for Gus Atkinson to take easy singles even with No. 10 and No. 11 at the crease. “We wanted them to take 30 scoring shots instead of a few to the boundary,” was his curt explanation of his tactics. The result shows the move paid off.
