Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and now Shubman Gill: India skipper fills in the big boots with landmark century

Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill (BCCI Photo)

“Rishabh Pant confirmed to us that you will be batting at number 4 in this series. You have opened the batting and also batted at number 3 for India. Now at number 4. Can you tell us how this was decided upon and finalised?” a journalist asked Shubman Gill at the pre match captain’s press conference.

Gill, calm and composed, had a smile on his face that lasted a couple of seconds. It was as if he was expecting the question and was ready for it. He took a couple more seconds to compose his thoughts and only then did he start to speak.

“When Virat bhai retired, GG bhai and I had a chat and we discussed the number 4 position. GG bhai suggested to me that I should bat at number 4 and I was keen on doing so. That’s how we agreed and things were finalised.”

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Short, crisp answer. What was left unsaid was what it takes to bat at number 4 for India. The enormity of it. For the last 3 decades the number 4 position has rested with Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. While Sachin made it his own for a good two decades, Kohli, the heir to the master, had it with him for more than a decade.

There are 80 Test hundreds between them and close to 25000 Test runs. The enormity of what he is stepping into may not have donned on Shubman. Or if it has, he isn’t showing it. This is one position that has been controlled by batting royalty. If Sachin was the greatest Test batter after Sir Donald Bradman, Kohli was certainly one of the best of this generation. Shubman seriously had big boots to fill but going by his body language he did not seem overawed. Rather, he looked like waiting to embrace the challenge and that’s what augurs well for him and for India.

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In fact, at no point in the press conference did he seem flustered. Nor was he in any hurry. He answered all the questions with poise and dignity and it was as if captaincy was starting to settle on him. May be that’s why he said: “There is no bigger or better honour than to captain your country in red ball cricket. I am privileged to have been asked to lead India in Test cricket.”

For many, Shubman is plain lucky. He hasn’t really done enough in SENA countries to deserve the honour. For some others he is a choice based on potential rather than on performance. Whichever way you look at it, this was Shubman Gill’s moment and he stood out with a landmark century, which now places him in an elite list featuring Sunil Gavaskar and Kohli - a ton in debut innings as India's Test captain.

Just like in the press conference, he soaked in all the pressure when he walked out to bat and stayed calm. There was some early nerve after all it is England and the stadium was packed to capacity. But then that’s what he is made for. His predecessors did so and that’s why they are greats of the game. Shubman has the potential and he displayed the same in some style.