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Former India head coach Ravi Shastri lavished praise on India's young Test captain Shubman Gill for his run in the recently concluded five-Test series against England. Gill scored 754 runs in the series, second-most by an Indian batter in a Test series. Under his leadership, India levelled the series 2-2 and are currently placed at no.3 in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 points table. Shastri labelled Gill as India's next 'rising star' amidst calls for his T20I comeback.
“No question, Shubman Gill. He’ll be around for a long, long time because we’ve seen what kind of series he’s had here. I think he’s only 25 years of age, and as you know, with this exposure, he’ll get even better,” Shastri told Sky Sports Cricket.
"He’s right up there. He’ll be up there. He’s composed. He’s very regal. The way he bats, he’s very easy on the eye, very fluent and has the ability to play the long innings,” he added.
Gill’s next Test assignment is at home against West Indies. The two-Test series will be played in the first half of October. Then, India will host South Africa in a two-Test series later this year.
Who is the best player Shastri coached?
Shastri was also asked who is the best player he coached. Without hesitation, he took former India Test captain Virat Kohli’s name.
"I would say Kohli, the batsman in his pomp, was unbelievable because in those five years when India were No. 1 in the red-ball format. Some of the innings he played in Australia, South Africa, England, across formats was unreal," said Shastri.
Shastri hails Kohli for ‘a magnificent job’
Shastri praised Kohli's leadership skills, his ability to dominate the opposition. However, he rues having not won an ICC trophy during his tenure as head coach.
"Once I took over the job, and once Dhoni had finished, he did a magnificent job. I think his first skills as a batsman, his ability to dominate, be in the face, play hard but play fair, and wanting to win and take the game forward," the 1983 World Cup-winning all-rounder added.
"We should have won an ICC trophy. In that time, we had the team to do it, but we still played some great cricket," he concluded.
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