'You should behave in...': Sunil Gavaskar gives blunt advice to new India captain Shubman Gill

Sunil Gavaskar gives blunt advice to new India captain Shubman Gill

Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has adviced India's new Test skipper Shubman Gill to command the respect of his teammates. The 25-year-old batter has been handed a big responsibility to lead the Indian cricket team despite the presence of senior players like KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah in the side. After Rohit Sharma retired from Test cricket, the BCCI selectors had a tough decision to make to find the next captain. Ajit Agarkar, the chief selector of Indian cricket team explained the decision to choose Gill as the next captain.

Shubman Gill has guided his IPL team, the Gujarat Titans, to the playoffs this season and also took charge of the Indian T20I side during last year’s tour of Zimbabwe. However, he is yet to captain in Test cricket at the international level. Despite this, the selectors have placed their trust in him, handing him the responsibility of leading India on a challenging tour of England, which includes five Test matches and marks the beginning of a new World Test Championship cycle.

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Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar noted that the 25-year-old will face significant pressure as he steps into this major leadership role.

“There is always pressure on the player who gets elected as India’s captain as there is a big difference between being a member of the team and being the captain," Gavaskar was quoted as saying by Sports Tak.

“Because when you are a team member, you generally just interact with players close to you, but when you become the captain, you should behave in a way that the other players in the team respect you and a captain’s behaviour is more important than his performance," he added.

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The batting legend also emphasized that Shubman must earn the respect of his teammates through his conduct, as that is crucial for any successful captain.