It’s Shubman Gill’s body language that assured the former India batting coach Vikram Rathour that he would make a good leader and that the BCCI has made the right decision in appointing him as the vice-captain of India’s T20 and ODI teams.
“Whatever I have seen him, be it for the Gujarat Titans or in Zimbabwe (when Gill led in a T20 series), he did a good job. He has shown terrific body language, which is a must if you are leading a side. Now with the vice-captaincy, the BCCI has given him extra responsibility and I am sure he will thrive in this role, ” Rathour tells The Indian Express.
Rathour pointed out two episodes involving Shubman that convinced him of his maturity.
The first was when Gill approached the leadership group of Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid to tell them that he wants to bat at No.3 in Tests. That this came in a phase when he was struggling for runs – he had gone without a fifty in 12 innings – made Rathour admire him more. He failed in the first Test against England in February but rallied back with a match-winning hundred in the second innings of the Vizag Test against England in February.
Rathour, who was India’s batting coach for five years feels getting Shubman in the leadership role might prove to be a masterstroke as it will enhance his game.
“The talk came from him. He felt that No 3 was an ideal position for him to bat and the management group backed him. It was his decision which was backed by Rahul, myself and Rohit, and he turned it around in the England series,” Rathour says.
The other noteworthy factor was Gill’s game awareness when he was newer to the Indian team.
“When I first saw him in the nets, my first impression was like everybody else’s. I saw exactly what a lot of people were talking about and spoke about his special talent. When the first time I saw him playing, the immediate thought that went into my mind was ‘whoa this kid is extremely talented’.
“What impressed me the most was his game awareness, which is something you don’t generally see in the young cricketers, who are coming through the ranks. He knew his game, he understood how he needs to bat in different situations and never shied away from challenges,” Rathour says.
Rathour, who was India’s batting coach for five years feels getting Shubman in the leadership role might prove to be a masterstroke as it will enhance his game.
“I feel captaincy brought the best out of Virat and Rohit and I feel it will do the same for Shubman. Although, he is not yet the captain, being in the leadership group will bring the best out of him as well. This is I am very sure off. When you are in that role, leading others, it gives you that extra bit of responsibility, which is good and I think is great for a young kid like Shubman, who one day might lead India in all three formats,” says Rathour.
Father’s advice to Shubman: ‘Captaincy must not hamper your batting’
Shubman Gill’s first coach and father, Lakhwinder Gill has only one advice to his son and that is to keep scoring runs.
“When he was appointed the captain of Gujarat Titans and recently for the Zimbabwe tour, I had only given him one piece of advice. ‘Stay cool and make sure and never let captaincy hamper your batting’,” says Lakhwinder.
His father, who was in Zimbabwe when Shubman stepped out as captain of India for the first time, feels the young team could have won the series easily 5-0.
“They were in the IPL mode. They thought they would just go and swivel their bats and score runs. Once they acclimatised to the conditions and pitches, you see the way they performed. They played reckless cricket in the first match,” he says.
Khushpreet Singh Aulkah, who has worked closely with Gill right from their U-14 days, had once revealed his friend’s captaincy ambitions to this newspaper.
“He wants to achieve what MS Dhoni has done at CSK, Rohit Sharma at Mumbai Indians, and Gautam Gambhir at Kolkata Knight Riders. He is someone who loves challenges and responsibility,” Khushpreet had said. “As far as I know him, apart from playing for India, captaining India is his big dream.”
Since Gill emerged as a breakout star from the 2018 U-19 World Cup, he has been seen as someone who will take the baton from Kohli as India’s next great batsman. But will he succeed with the added responsibility given to him?
Lakhwinder feels his son will thrive in the new role. “If he scores with his bat, his team will win. It is as simple as that,” he says. “Over the years, he has played under different captains. He has played under Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya, and all of them have done for India and their respective IPL franchises. I am sure Shubman must have learnt a lot while working with them.
“If the BCCI is giving him the responsibility saying that they are looking at him as the next leader, then they must have seen something in him,” the father concludes.
