Gill not being a stop-gap Test captaincy option will give him a lot of confidence, says WV Raman

New Delhi, June 14 Come June 20, and the sight of Shubman Gill donning the India blazer and walking out for the toss in the series opener against England at Headingley will make for a significant visual. The retirement of key players like Kohli and Sharma ushers in a new era for India’s Test team, with Gill taking center stage as the new captain.

Apart from navigating the leadership side of things, there will be high expectations from Gill to assert his authority as a match-winner with the bat too, considering his overseas Test record doesn’t make for a mighty impressive read.

Having witnessed Gill’s potential firsthand as the India U19 head coach on tour of England in 2017, former India cricketer WV Raman believes that the right-handed batter not being seen as a stop-gap Test captain pick will allow him to excel in both his roles as batter and captain.

“He's come a long way since we spent some time in England when he was a part of the Under-19 side. What he's done well is to try and identify the areas he needs to improve and he's done that. Even starting with conversing in English, he's made leaps and bounds in terms of improving the areas that he needed to As far as Gill is concerned, I think he's aware of the fact that he will not be just a stop-gap option.”

“He knows that the selectors will back him for a while. So, that should give him a lot of confidence, even as a batter, because if he was not the captain, maybe he might be feeling a little bit insecure and he might think that the axe is definitely hanging above his head. But now that he's made the captain, I think he doesn't need to even have those kinds of thoughts, which will obviously help him to get runs,” said Raman to IANS in an exclusive interaction organised by Sony Sports Network.

With India’s batting order to be firmed up once the intra-squad game ends, it remains to be seen whether Gill would bat at three or become a permanent number four position holder. Raman, who also coached India women’s team, wants Gill to wait for the ball to come to him and then go for his shots in England’s swinging conditions.

“But as far as the technical part of things are concerned, he needs to try and wait for the ball to come on to him, rather than look to try and play on the up as he does normally on these tracks here in the subcontinent, which is the way he’s used to batting before leading up to this series in the IPL,” he added.

Apart from Gill, vice-captain and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant also has a very huge role to play in the series against England. As one of the most experienced cricketers set-up now in the leadership group, a lot will be expected from Pant on England’s lively pitches after having a tour of Australia which didn’t really meet the lofty expectations people have from him.

“He's got to back himself and tell himself that he's played some out-of-this-world innings in Test cricket to win matches for India, or to perhaps possibly even secure a draw for India abroad. So, that is what he must bank on.”

“These things obviously will come into play when you're on a tough tour - the things that X, Y has done in the past. That's where they'll draw the inspiration from. It's all a matter of Rishabh Pant having a couple of good hours in the first Test, and the entire landscape will change,” added Raman.

Undeniably, Gill and Pant face the momentous challenge of propelling the Indian Test cricket team into the next decade, irrespective of the inherent ups and downs coming in this period, starting from the series in England. “I think there is no pressure on this particular Indian team for the simple reason that everybody realises that this team is going through transition.”

“The fact that everybody is already looking at being patient with them is a big plus for them, and I think that's the big plus for this current Indian side. Under a new captain and a new vice-captain with a lot of slots up for grabs is a situation where everybody realises that there will be a bit of pressure on them.”

“But at the same time, it's a big opportunity for a lot of youngsters and also for people like Karun Nair to try and cement their place, because if they end up performing in a key series like this, it will stand them in good stead,” concluded Raman.

The much-anticipated India tour of England, starting from June 20, will be shown live and exclusive on the Sony Sports Network channels.

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