Shubman Gill’s ruthlessness: A captain who thrives with or without a challenge

Shubman Gill scored his 19th international hundred against West Indies. (Photo: BCCI)

It is a low key series for sure. Few fans turned up knowing West Indies aren’t a match for India. And that’s what makes things difficult for performers at times. You don’t really have a challenge to prove anything. You are not tested and in the absence of any real competition it is difficult to concentrate. That’s where the greats of the game stand up. There is a stoic ruthlessness about them and they just go about doing their job with the very same professionalism. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is. It doesn’t matter who the bowler is. All that matters is they are out there in the 22 yards and need to do a job for themselves and for their team. Shubman Gill is one such performer and it was yet again evident at the Arun Jaitley stadium on Saturday.

Test hundreds are test hundreds and each one of them matter in the end. Gill did not choose the opponent or the bowlers who bowled to him. All he did was go out there and focus and score runs. When the team is already well placed, a sense of complacency could creep in. It is not unnatural to see it happen. But then professionals know how to block it. Insulate themselves from all the noise that this is a below par contest and just focus on the task at hand.

So far Gill has been superb as a batter since becoming red ball captain. Five hundreds in seven tests stand testimony and while tougher challenges are ahead of him, the early signs give us a lot of heart.

Personally I have always felt it is tougher to score big against modest opponents. Against the best there is always that extra hunger. You want to outperform Australia or South Africa but when it comes to teams like the West Indies you inevitably have this sense it will be a lesser contest. How you motivate yourself in such situations define you as a professional and that’s what Shubman was able to do in Delhi.

The other thing that stands about in him is his ability to stay unfazed under the pressures of captaincy. Rather he is enjoying being the skipper and his efforts with the bat are clear proof. 750 plus runs against England in England and now a hundred and a fifty against the West Indies.

Shubman Gill, whether his trollers like it or not, is here for the long haul. He knows he has the backing of the powers who control the game in India and is doing everything possible to pay them back for the confidence they have reposed in him.

And yet you will see unabated on social media abuse heaped towards Gill. Why do these so called fans do it is a mystery. Is it for social media likes or is there a larger story that we don’t know about? Why would you want to abuse the Indian captain even after he has scored a century? And yet that’s what happens every single day with toxic fandom ruling Indian cricket.

Since taking over as skipper Gill has upper his average from 35 to 44 in red ball cricket. He is more responsible and less inconsistent. They are key features in a captain and under him there is every reason to believe that India will make the finals of the WTC in 2027. For that he will have to overcome South Africa and Australia at home and for both these contests, we do expect capacity crowds making it to the stadium. Shubman, however, will stay unchanged. His will continue with his processes and when time comes make all of it count for India.