Hyderabad: 

At the end of the series, head coach Rahul Dravid told the selectors that he had seen leadership potential in Shubman Gill. He had stated that the right-handed batter showed his involvement in team planning and also took interest in other’s games. Gill was yet to captain Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League. He had no experience of captaining any Under-19 team and has led Punjab in only one match of Ranji Trophy.

When England toured India at the start of the 2024, India were on verge of a transition period. Seniors in the team - Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and R Ashwin all were at the back end of their career and they were not going to be there forever. The series began with a defeat, but the Indian team bounced back by winning the rest of the matches and series by 4-1. A young promising batter was playing for a spot in the national team averaging 31 after 20 Tests and he stepped up to the occasion by hitting a couple of centuries.

 Gill’s rise to captaincy status:

In the last one and a half years, BCCI selectors have seen Gill captaining GT in the IPL for two editions. However, he was never appointed as deputy of Rohit during Test series against Bangladesh or New Zealand. Also, he wasn’t offered any leadership role and so there were no definite indications pointing out that Gill would be the next captain of the Indian Test team.

Former India captain Rohit Sharma retired before the start of the series and the time of appointing a new Test captain arrived.

However, out of the contenders for the captaincy, Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out as there was uncertainty around him playing every test considering the workload managed by a fast bowler. Virat Kohli also retired before the series and KL Rahul didn’t have age in his favor. That left only two options for the selectors - Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill.

With two options for them, the selectors went with Gill and it seemed that the Judgement call was made considering the potential they see in him.

Similarities between Gill and Kohli captaincy:

The Indian Test team is in a transition period and the situation is almost like 2013, 2014 and 2015 when Kohli took over the captaincy. Kohli was 26 while Gill was 25. Kohli had played 29 Tests averaging 39.46. Plus, he had a horrible England tour which he needed to get over with. Kohli boasted impressive ODI numbers just like Gill. Also, Kohli had two full seasons as the captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Challenges lying for Gill ahead:

With Gill taking over the reigns of the Indian team, he might have to face multiple challenges in the captaincy role. Things would not be easy for the 37th Test captain of the Indian team as his tenure will start with challenging conditions in England. Both batting as well as bowling units have to deliver for the team under challenging conditions where the batters are tested consistently. The coach was also under extreme pressure which included a humiliating home series whitewash and losing the Border Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in a decade.

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