Under Shubman Gill, Team India may not have registered a landmark Test series victory yet, but he is “comfortable” with the leadership role after overseeing the team’s progress throughout. Gill’s debut series as captain saw India return from England with a 2-2 draw before going down to South Africa at home, even though he missed a good chunk of that rubber with a neck injury as well.

“I am very comfortable with the captaincy role and I think the way we have been, you know, progressing in the past one year… it has been very pleasing to see from my perspective,” Shubman Gill said in the pre-match press conference on the eve of the first Test against Sri Lanka. “And I think we are taking all the right steps in the right direction.”

However, Gill did not miss the point that Team India is struggling at fifth in the World Test Championship points table and they need a very strong effort to be in contention for the final.

“Obviously, now the main goal is to play the World Test Championship final, which is next year. We have got about nine Tests and I think we have to win around 6 or 7 to be able to have a good chance at qualifying. So in terms of that, I think that this is (versus Sri Lanka) a very important series for us and we have had the right kind of preparation leading up to the series,” further added Gill.

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Shubman Gill will also join some iconic names like Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi (100th) and Virat Kohli (500th) while leading India out in its 600th Test as well. However, Gill viewed the opportunity as a great honour.

“It’s a very big honour and privilege, you know, any Test Match that you captain for your country. Obviously, leading my country in our 600th Test match is a big honour and privilege for me and doing that on Independence Day is even more special,” he said.

However, he also opined on his understanding of the local conditions, and how different an experience it will be playing Test in the Island nation.

“To begin with there is a big similarity that the spinners play a huge role, especially when the ball gets old. Differences, I mean it depends where you are playing in India because India has got different kinds of soils. Here (in Galle) we have seen in the matches that were played recently, we saw there is a good bit of bounce which I would say is similar to playing on a red soil wicket (in India). So if you are playing somewhere in Mumbai, I think it is a little bit closer to playing in this part of the world,” Shubman Gill concluded.