Shubman Gill’s rise in Indian cricket has been swift, taking over captaincy duties in both Tests and ODIs from Rohit Sharma. Despite his rapid ascent, Gill remains humble and focused on future goals rather than dwelling on past achievements.
Reflecting on recent months, Gill said, “The last few months have been very exciting for me. I’m really looking forward to what the future has. I want to stay in the present and don’t really want to look back on what I’ve been able to achieve or what we as a team have been able to achieve. (I) just want to look forward and win everything that we have in the upcoming months.”
Ahead of the second Test against West Indies at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, Gill addressed a pressing question with straightforwardness, confirming that he expects veterans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to be available for the 2027 World Cup. He stated confidently in Hindi, “Yes, of course. The experience that the two bring and the matches that they have won for India… There are very few players (with such a record). There are very few players in the world who have so much skill, quality and experience. In that sense, I’m very happy.”
Leadership Qualities
While Kohli and Rohit have now limited their appearances to ODIs, they will be playing under Gill’s captaincy in the upcoming three-match ODI series in Australia. Speaking on leadership qualities, Gill expressed deep respect for his predecessor Rohit Sharma, saying, “There are so many qualities that I have inherited from Rohit bhai. The calmness that he possesses and the kind of friendship that he has among the group is something that I aspire to. These are the qualities that I want to take from him.”
Gill also outlined his positive working relationship with head coach Gautam Gambhir. “Our relationship is really good,” he shared. “It’s very simple actually. We always try to have conversations around how we can make the players feel more secure and what kind of combinations that we can play.”
He acknowledged the challenge of playing across formats, mentioning the mental strain involved. “Physically, most of the time I feel fine. Sometimes there is mental fatigue. Because when you are constantly playing, there are certain expectations that I have from myself. And to be able to keep up with my own expectations sometimes becomes a challenge.
India vs Australia ODI Series Schedule
October 19 (Sunday): 1st ODI – Perth Stadium, Perth
October 23 (Thursday): 2nd ODI – Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
October 25 (Saturday): 3rd ODI – Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
India’s ODI Squad
Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal.