“We Threw You In The Deep Sea” – Gautam Gambhir’s Revelation On Shubman Gill

Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir recalled his first conversation with Shubman Gill after the batter was named Test captain ahead of the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in England. Under Gill’s leadership, the Men in Blue secured a promising 2-2 draw in the five-match series, marking a strong beginning to his tenure as red-ball skipper.

India had to accelerate their leadership plans following Rohit Sharma’s sudden retirement from Test cricket during the 2025 IPL. Shubman Gill was entrusted with captaincy over senior players like Jasprit Bumrah and KL Rahul, who had previously led the side in occasional matches.

The England tour posed a significant challenge for Gill, as he managed a team in transition, dealt with limited availability of Jasprit Bumrah due to workload management, and navigated an injury-hit squad. India overcame challenges to secure historic wins at Edgbaston and The Oval, boosting their 2025-27 WTC campaign.

“Thrown In Deep, Either Drown Or Become World-Class”- Gambhir On Gill’s Test Captaincy

Gautam Gambhir shared that he told Gill at the outset of his tenure that his journey as Test captain could have unpredictable outcomes.

“I remember the entire conversation. I told him one thing very clearly, that we have thrown you in the deep sea, and there are only two outcomes from here. Either you will drown or you will become world-class. For me, the 750-odd runs he scored in England does not matter much. If he had not scored those in that tour, he would have scored it in the next tour, that is his quality,” Gambhir said on Jio Hotstar.

“What mattered for me, was the way a 25-year-old kid, with a young team, handled himself and his captaincy, the pressure, over there against a quality England side. Because I don’t think there will be a more difficult test than that in his captaincy career, whether he leads for 10 years, 15 years, or 2 years. I don’t think any captain in India has had such a challenge, over a span of 2 months, considering how intimidating England’s batting was, and how inexperienced our team was,” Gambhir added.