Mumbai, June 5 (IANS) Shubman Gill has been the vice-captain of the Indian team and has led the Gujarat Titans with distinction in the Indian Premier League, guiding them to the playoffs in the 2025 edition after taking over the role from Hardik Pandya in 2024.

But all that experience would not matter much as he takes over the full-time responsibility as India’s Test captain. The 25-year-old from Fazilka, Punjab, is all set to embark on his first full tour as Test captain and faces the onerous task of leading India in five matches in England, with the first match starting at Headingley, Leeds, on June 20.

Gill said he has not decided on any particular style of captaincy and would rather let it develop over the years. He, however, said he would like to be able to communicate a lot with his players and lead by example.

He said that he does not want to follow any particular style of captaincy.

“No particular style that I want to follow. I like communicating with the players and making them feel secure. Making a bond with the players is very important for me as a captain. It is only when players are secure that they will give you their 100 percent,” said Gill on Thursday.

“As a captain, you definitely want to be able to lead by example, by performance. And any match that you play, when heading out there, I just want to play as a batsman. I want to make decisions as a batsman. Having said that, averages and numbers are not something that I look at. But I definitely want to be judged by my performance,” said Gill

Asked about England and their ‘Bazball’ style of no-holds-barred aggressive play, Gill said they have experienced it during England’s tour of India last year.

“They play a certain way, we saw that in India as well. It is exciting for us. It gives us an opportunity. And I think it’s a great challenge if we are very proactive with our execution, and if we are proactive with our plans, I think it would put them under pressure,” said Gill.

With Gill at the helm, India will play five Test matches in England. The two countries had last played a five-match Test series in India in the 2023-24 season with India winning 4-1.

–IANS

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