Newly appointed India Test captain Shubman Gill is gearing up for a high-stakes Test series against England with a renewed sense of clarity — both in leadership and mindset. As he begins his journey as red-ball captain, Gill finds himself navigating two very different coaching styles in Ashish Nehra and Gautam Gambhir, both of whom have played influential roles in his development as a leader.
Speaking to Dinesh Karthik on Sky Cricket, Gill offered insight into the contrast between the two mentors. “Ashu pa (Nehra) is very, like you said, very hands-on, very animated and very expressive in terms of his personality,” he said. “Your personality kind of reflects on your coaching style as well. So he’s very expressive.”
What Shubman Said?
In comparison, Gautam Gambhir — India’s new head coach — brings a more intense, cerebral edge. “Gautam is very determined, very committed. And he’s also very clear with his communication, what he wants from the players and what kind of mindset that he would want the players to have,” Gill explained.
“I think Gautam bhai focuses more on the kind of attitude or the mindset that he requires from the team or the players.”
Despite their differences, Gill sees both coaching philosophies driving towards the same ambition. “They’re very different personalities, but at the end of the day, you’re all working towards a common goal. The paths might be different, but you’re trying to reach the same destination,” he said.
Gill's leadership debut comes at a crucial time, with India facing an England team that is thin on bowling resources — particularly in the spin department. However, he dismissed the idea of targeting any one bowler, including Shoaib Bashir, who had a promising debut during the last series.
Gill On India's Batting Order
“Our batting order is relatively inexperienced and their bowling attack is relatively inexperienced. So I think there’s a good balance there,” Gill said.
“We want to play each game or each session as it is. We don’t want to — or maybe you might feel — when we are batting, this certain bowler could be bowling well. It might well be Bashir, who is bowling well on a given day and we might feel like ‘okay, we might not need to take too many risks against him’. So it’s all about what’s happening in that situation or in that condition.”
Gill's Approach To England Test
As part of his preparation, Gill went back to study India’s performances in England in recent years — including the 4-1 defeat in 2018 and the drawn 2-2 series in 2022. He believes there are important takeaways from both campaigns.
“I looked at the previous couple of series because that’s relatively more relevant, more closer to how we are going to play or to how the England team plays,” he said. “And that’s what I looked at. I think it’s very important to take that confidence into this series because I personally feel that we had two very good series. We might have not won those series, but there were a lot of positives that we took from that series.”
The first Test between India and England starts in Leeds from June 20.
