(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) Team India batter Shubman Gill has opened up after being named as new Test captain ahead of the five-match series against England, starting on June 20. The BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar on Saturday, May 24, officially named Gill as the next captain of Team India in the longest format of the game, succeeding Rohit Sharma, who retired from red-ball cricket ahead of the England tour.

Shubman Gill, who is currently leading Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025, emerged as the front-runner to take up captaincy duties in Test cricket despite being in contention with Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, and KL Rahul.

The captaincy race was between Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill after Jasprit Bumrah opted out of it due to injury concerns and workload management. The selection committee decided to go with Gill as India's new Test captain, with Pant being named as the vice-captain in Tests.

Gill on getting India's Test captaincy

Speaking in a video posted by Indian Cricket Team on its official Instagram handle, Shubman Gill stated it was 'overwhelming' to get the honour to captain Team India in Tests, adding that it was dream as a child to play Test Cricket for India.

"It is definitely a bit overwhelming. As a young kid, when anyone starts playing cricket, they want to play for India, and not just play 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 is a big responsibility." Gill said.

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Shubman Gill has become the 37th Test captain for Team India and sixth since 2007 after MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, and Rohit Sharma. Gill becomes the fourth youngest player after Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, and Ravi Shastri to get an opportunity to lead in the longest format of the game.

Gill has already been part of the leadership group over the last couple of years and is currently vice-captain of India ODI team.

Approach to captaincy

Further speaking about getting Test captaincy, Shubman Gill stated that he wanted to lead the team by an example not just by his performance but also by discipline and hard work. He also highlighted the importance of being a good leader.

“I believe in leading by example, not just by performance, but I think off the field by discipline and hard work," the 25-year-old said,

"Everyone has a different personality. So a good leader should always be able to know what makes his players to be able to have the best performance or the best outcome. That is always exciting to be able to have those conversations with the players, to be able to know them on a deeper level than just cricket, you know, because then you are really able to know what can get the best out of them," he added.

Shubman Gill has captaincy credentials under his belt, having led Punjab at all age group levels and senior team, and now currently leading Gujarat Titans in the ongoing IPL season. Under the leadership of Gill, Gujarat Titans qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2022 after they had a disappointing campaign in the last IPL season.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's captaincy styles

Shubman Gill spoke about contrasting styles of captaincy of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, stating that the former was 'aggressive' and always led the team from front with hunger and passion, while the latter was 'calm' and tactically very present during the matches.

"Virat Bhai was always very aggressive. Always wanting to lead from the front with hunger and passion. Whereas Rohit Bhai was also aggressive, but you might not see that on their reaction or on their expressions, but he was also someone who was always very attacking on the field." Gill said.

“Rohit Bhai was someone who was very calm and tactically always very present, and he is very communicative to the players, what he wants from the players. And so these are the qualities that I learned from him," he added.

Virat Kohli had led Team India in Tests from 2011 until relinquishing his captaincy duties after Test series defeat against South Africa in 2022. Kohli is the most successful Indian captain with 40 wins in 68 and has a win percentage of 58.82.

Rohit Sharma led Team India from 2022 till 2025 and won 12 matches in 24 outings. Sharma's biggest setback as a Test captain came when India suffered their first Test series whitewash in 24 years at the hands of New Zealand.

Shubman Gill on England Test tour

The first big assignment for Shubman Gill as India's Test captain is the tour of England. Gill admitted that it is 'mentally' and 'physically' challenging to play the five-match Test series, but it is an 'exciting' part of the game.

“"I think there is a different essence when you're playing a five test match series." Gill said.

"It is long, it is mentally and physically very challenging. And I think that is the most exciting part about test cricket, because there are different areas and aspects that it challenges you at. It is not one-dimensional.

"There are a lot more things that go on in red ball cricket. And that is the most exciting thing that I find about red ball cricket. And hopefully, it is going to be a very exciting time for us. It is not going to be easy, but I think we are ready for any challenge," he concluded.

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