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Young Shubman Gill was announced as India's new Test captain ahead of the England tour starting next month. While many wanted Jasprit Bumrah to take over captaincy, it was revealed that he may not play all the matches and hence the decision on Gill was taken. With a few weeks to go for the five-Test series against an in-form Ben Stokes' England, former Australia captain Steve Waugh feels Gill is the right choice. Waugh said Gill commands respect in the group and it will be a big responsibility for him under pressure.
"But they're in good hands. Shubham Gill is an excellent player. Very good under pressure. Thinks well. He's respected by his team, so he'll be a good choice, but you've got to give him time to grow into the role. It's a big responsibility. Representing 1.4 to 1.5 billion people. A lot of pressure," Waugh told ANI.
Gill is currently leading Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Gill's GT are placed second on the points table. If Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) lose to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), GT will advance to Qualifier 1. If not, then GT will face Mumbai Indians (MI) in the eliminator.
On compeltion of IPL 2025, Gill will fly to England and join the India A squad to take on England Lions in the second practice match. Gill's GT opening partner Sai Sudharsan will accomany him for the India A's second game as well.
What Gill said after getting Test captaincy
Last week, Gill expressed his excitement as he got the captaincy in the longest format after Rohit Sharma announced his retirement.
"As a captain, a leader should be able to know when to step in but also when to give space to the players, because everyone has kind of had a different life and grown up differently," Gill told BCCI.tv. "Everyone has a different personality, so a good leader should always be able to know what makes his players to be able to have the best performance or the best outcome.
"That is always exciting to be able to have those conversations with the players, to be able to know them on a deeper level than just cricket, because then you're really able to know what can get the best out of them."
While the second first-class game will begin on June 6, India will also play an intra-squad game starting June 13. The Test series will commence on June 20 at Headingley, Leeds.
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