Former Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour has added that young talent Shubman Gill to lead India across formats one day due to his level-headedness as well. Rathour also recalled being awestruck when he first saw the youngster in the nets, given the abundance of talent he has.
However, Gill has proven himself as a remarkable player across formats in the last 18 months. He especially had a brilliant run in ODIs in 2023, amassing 1584 runs in 29 matches, averaging 63.36 as well.
Speaking to The Indian Express, the veteran remembered how captaincy upgraded Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s gameplay. Hence,
he hopes to see the same happen for Gill as well.
He said, “I feel captaincy brought the best out of Virat and Rohit and I feel it will do the same for Shubman. Although, he is not yet the captain, being in the leadership group will bring the best out of him as well. This is I am very sure off. When you are in that role, leading others, it gives you that extra bit of responsibility, which is good and I think is great for a young kid like Shubman, who one day might lead India in all three formats.”
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He further added, “When I first saw him in the nets, my first impression was like everybody else’s. I saw exactly what a lot of people were talking about and spoke about his special talent. When the first time I saw him playing, the immediate thought that went into my mind was ‘whoa this kid is extremely talented’. He knew his game, he understood how he needs to bat in different situations and never shied away from challenges.”
However, Shubman Gill had a taste of captaincy as he led India to a 4-1 T20I series victory against Zimbabwe earlier this month as well. He is also the vice-captain in T20Is and ODIs for the series against Sri Lanka. He also revealed how Gill took the initiative to bat at No. 3 during the Test series against England earlier this year and justified the place as well.
“The talk came from him. He felt that No. 3 was an ideal position for him to bat and the management group backed him. It was his decision which was backed by Rahul, myself and Rohit, and he turned it around in the England series,” Vikram Rathour concluded.
