- By Namrata Vijay
- Sat, 11 Oct 2025 03:41 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
IND vs WI 2nd Test: Head coach Gautam Gambhir said he will back Shubman Gill to the hilt as long as the young captain does and says the right things, heaping praise on how the 25-year-old has carried himself with the captain’s armband so far. Gambhir recalled his first conversation with Gill after he was appointed Test captain ahead of India’s tour of England earlier this year, saying the youngster had come through one of his toughest tests with flying colors.
Speaking to Star Sports during the second Test between India and the West Indies in New Delhi, Gambhir said Gill had faced unfair criticism after being appointed Test captain but had silenced his critics, showing incredible composure during the intensely fought five-Test series in England, which India drew 2-2.
Gill has now been elevated to One-Day International captaincy, replacing Rohit Sharma. He will begin his stint as ODI captain in a three-match series in Australia this October, as India prepares him to lead the team at the 2027 ODI World Cup in Africa.
Gill took over the Test team during a turbulent phase, months after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retired from Test cricket midway through the IPL. India were under immense pressure heading to England, following series defeats to Australia away and a 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand at home.
“I do remember. I remember the entire conversation,” Gambhir said. “Picking a 25-year-old to captain a Test side, I told him one thing very clearly: ‘We have thrown you in a deep sea. From here, there are only two paths — you may drown or you’ll become a world-class swimmer.’ For me, the 750 runs in England don’t matter as much as the way a 25-year-old, in his first Test series as captain, handled himself, the team, and the pressure.”
Gill continued his golden run in Tests, scoring his fifth hundred as captain on Day 2 of the second Test in New Delhi, emulating Virat Kohli’s record for most hundreds by an Indian Test captain in a calendar year.