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Updated on: Oct 12, 2025 09:28 am IST
Shubman Gill had replaced Rohit Sharma as the India Test captain in May earlier this year
India head coach Gautam Gambhir opened up on his very first conversation with Shubman Gill after the youngster was named as the new India Test captain in May earlier this year, shortly after Rohit Sharma announced his sudden retirement from the format. The unfiltered advice, which came right before the all-important tour to England in the summer, was meant to prepare Gill for the immense responsibility and challenges that come with leading the Indian team.
Speaking to the broadcasters after the end of Day 2 proceedings at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, Gambhir said that he had told Gill that stepping into the captaincy role at that point in time in Indian cricket was like being thrown into a deep sea, where only two paths awaited: he could either struggle and fail or rise to become a world-class leader.
“I remember that entire conversation,” Gambhir said when asked if he remembered his first interaction with the 25-year-old when he was named the Test skipper.
“I told him one thing very clearly: ‘We have thrown you into a deep sea, and there are only two paths from here. Either you will drown or you will become a world-class swimmer’,” Gambhir added.
Gill vindicated the call in the tour of England, where he scored a record 754 runs – the most by any Indian captain in a single series, and led the team to a stunning 2-2 draw. And Gambhir was all praise for the 25-year-old for his superb show in England.
“For me, those 750 runs don’t matter. If Shubman hadn’t made those 750 runs on the England tour, he would have made them on the next tour. Because of his quality. For me, the way a 25-year-old kid, with a young team, handled himself, his captaincy, handled the team, handled the pressure, against a quality England side (is what matters). I don’t think there is a test more difficult than that in captaincy,” Gambhir explained.
