• Home
  • Who Said What
  • Purpose Pressure Shubman Gill Injects His Philosophy Into New Era Indian Test Squad

"Purpose, Pressure" Shubman Gill Injects His Philosophy Into New Era Indian Test Squad

Akshita Patel

Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir addressing team huddle [Source: @indiancricketteam/Instagram]Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir addressing team huddle [Source: @indiancricketteam/Instagram]

India’s newest Test captain, Shubman Gill, has unveiled his philosophy ahead of the 5-game Test series against England. In a team huddle, Gill urged his unit to play with purpose and absorb pressure to bring out their A-game against a quality side.

Indian Test cricket is entering a new era after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli took a step back and announced their retirement from the format earlier this year. BCCI handed over the leadership reins to 25-year-old Shubman Gill, marking the beginning of a new era.

This brand-new team’s first assignment is to take on England in a five-game Test series beginning on June 20 at Leeds.

Shubman Gill’s Leadership Motto Unveiled

Before the first Test began, the Indian team practised in London. Captain Shubman Gill called for a team huddle. In a video released by BCCI, he advised his troops to play with a purpose. Gill added that the approach should not be to just survive but instead to dominate.

“Let’s make each and every net session meaningful and let’s prepare like that. And let’s put ourselves under a little bit of pressure when we are going out there. It’s not about going out there and surviving, let’s try to find out our game — how we are going to play when we are put under pressure. Be it our bowlers or batters. Let’s play every ball with a purpose,” Gill said (via Times Now).

This upcoming series is the 25-year-old’s first assignment as India’s Test captain. However, his form as a batter is not up to the mark. In England, he has played 3 Tests and scored 88 runs with a 14.66 average. 

Even during the Border-Gavaskar series against Australia held in 2024, Gill scored 93 runs in 5 innings with an 18.60 average before eventually getting dropped from the squad.

Gautam Gambhir Infuses Confidence In Young Test Squad

Before Shubman Gill, head coach Gautam Gambhir also shared a few words in the team huddle. He welcomed the debutants and Karun Nair as well for making a comeback. Gambhir advised the young lot to take his tour as an opportunity to express themselves and fill the void of missing senior stars. 

“All I want to say is that there’s two ways of looking at this tour. One is, we are without our three most experienced players or we got this phenomenal opportunity to do something special for the country. When I look around in this group, I think the hunger, the passion, the commitment to do something special. I think if we make sacrifices, if we come out of our comfort zone, if we start fighting, not every day but every session, every hour and every ball, I think we can have a memorable tour,” Gambhir said.

He added that each player should play out of their comfort zone to produce something magical and turn this series into a memorable tour.