Shubman Gill’s spectacular beginning as Test captain has impressed many, but Sourav Ganguly has provided a cautious view. Addressing on his 53rd birthday on Tuesday, the erstwhile India skipper acknowledged Gill’s dazzling performance while warning that the real leadership test was yet to come. India’s dominating 336-run win at Edgbaston not only levelled the five-match series against England at 1-1, but also showcased Gill’s personal brilliance. His 269 and 161 in Birmingham registered the highest match aggregate by an Indian batsman to date, 18 runs short of breaking Rahul Dravid’s record 602-run tally during the 2002 England tour the highest by an Indian in a series on English soil.
“This is the best I’ve seen him bat and I’m not surprised,” Ganguly said
“He has just become captain, it’s a honeymoon period. But there would be more pressure with time. The pressure will build in the next three Tests,” he said.
Gill’s impressive run has even placed a century-old benchmark in sight. With three games to go, he needs to score 225 more runs to surpass Don Bradman’s mark of 810 runs in the 1936-37 Ashes most by a captain in a Test series.
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“There is so much talent in Indian cricket. In every generation you will find players,” he said. “After the great Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Tendulkar, Dravid, Kumble came and then Kohli, now Gill, Jaiswal, Akash Deep, Mukesh, Siraj… just see the abundance of talent. In every generation, whenever there’s a void, they will come and fill it. I’ve always said that.”
“It’s just one-all. There’s still a lot to play for with three matches to go. India played well, and have been playing well. But again, you have to start from scratch in the next match (at Lord’s).”
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Even as the heroics were celebrated, Ganguly called for restraint, pointing to even greater challenges looming. He admired the new generation of Indian players for rising to the occasion with experienced stars like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin not playing, but emphasized that Indian cricket has extensive talent pool. Nevertheless, he cautioned that the series is far from over and the journey ahead will call for grit and dependability.
