"Not even in my dreams..."- Shubman Gill's unfiltered chat on being appointed as test skipper

Shubman Gill was appointed as test captain of India following Rohit Sharma’s test retirement.

Indian Cricketer Shubman Gill shared his emotions on becoming the skipper of the team in tests. He admitted that he never even dreamt of leading the national team in the longest format of the game. 

Rohit Sharma‘s retirement from test cricket made the captaincy spot vacant in the Indian Cricket Team. However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) didn’t take long to make the decision and handed over the responsibility to Shubman Gill. 

Shubman Gill, who is touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket, was the certain choice for the role, especially with Jasprit Bumrah being injury-prone. The young batter will probably be facing the toughest challenge in his first assignment, as India will be taking on England in the five-match test series, starting on 20th June.

This will be a big series for Shubman Gill both as a batter as well as a leader. On the batting front, he hasn’t been at his best in the overseas conditions. His last fifty in overseas conditions came during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2020-21, and after that, he has struggled to get going.

Not even in my dreams, I thought one day, I want to be the captain – Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill talked about leading India for the first time in the tests, saying that he has always thought about winning the games for his team with his performances. But he was quick to admit that understanding of the leadership comes as the player progresses in his career. Speaking in a video posted by BCCI, he said: 

“Whenever I dreamt, I dreamt of playing for India and performing for India and doing whatever I can as a batter to win matches by my performance, by scoring. Not even in my dreams, I thought one day, I want to be the captain, and I want to lead India.“

“But I think as you keep growing older, you keep playing and then you start to understand the role of leadership and leaders. But when I was younger, I just thought I want to play for India, I want to win matches for India.” 

Shubman Gill would want to make a massive impact in his first series as a captain. He will have huge shoes to fill in and the series against England will mark the new edition of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC). 

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