Former India batter Sunil Gavaskar backed Shubman Gill’s appointment as the new Test captain. Gill will be leading the national side during the upcoming five-match Test series against England with Rishabh Pant as his deputy. However, Gavaskar said that Gill will need to command the players’ respect and handle the pressure that comes with the role as well.

“There is always pressure on the player who gets elected as India’s captain as there is a big difference between being a member of the team and being the captain,” Gavaskar said as quoted by Sports Tak.

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“Because when you are a team member, you generally just interact with players close to you, but when you become the captain, you should behave in a way that the other players in the team respect you and a captain’s behaviour is more important than his performance,” he further added.

As Shubman Gill takes over the reins from Rohit Sharma ahead of the much-awaited series against England, former cricketer Yograj Singh has lauded the people behind the young captain’s journey, his father and veteran India player Yuvraj Singh as well

While speaking to ANI, Yograj Singh said, “The credit for Shubman Gill’s performance goes to his father and Yuvraj Singh. If Shubman Gill has become the captain today and will stay for a long time, Yuvraj Singh’s guidance will play and has played an essential role in that,” he added. “Someone like Yuvraj Singh, the greatest cricketing brain in the world, taking Gill under his wing is a big thing.”