Shubman Gill's big Test: Leadership lessons from Graeme Smith's historic England tour

India are about to embark on a new chapter in their cricketing history as captain Shubman Gill officially takes charge of the Test team from June 20 for the five-match Test series against England. The 25-year-old has been entrusted with the leadership duties following the retirement of captain Rohit Sharma.Gill has become the fifth-youngest Indian Test captain and will face a herculean task of leading the team in England. As the prince of Indian cricket gears up for his Test captaincy debut, he can draw inspiration from legendary South Africa skipper Graeme Smith, who took to leadership like a fish to water, during testing times for his country.advertisementSmith was crowned South Africa's captain after their 2003 ODI World Cup debacle, taking over the leadership mantle from Shaun Pollock. The 22-year-old became the youngest captain from his country and also faced a similar challenge of touring England for just his second series.
Facing a daunting task of leading his team in a foreign land where the local media is known for going after the touring sides, Smith led his team from the front, scoring a magnificent double hundred in the very first Test in Birmingham. He followed it up with another double ton in the second game at Lord's but this time in a winning cause, which also earned him the Player of the Match award.Can Gill emulate Smith's batting heroics?Throughout the series, Smith rose to the occasion whenever his team needed him and was instrumental in turning the game in their favour with both his bat and tactical brilliance on the field. As a result, South Africa managed to draw the series 2-2 and Smith was adjudged Player of the series for scoring 714 runs from nine innings.advertisementHence, there's a lot Gill can learn from Smith, as he embarks on his journey as Test captain. When the Proteas legend was made the skipper, he was met with widespread censure as critics felt he was 'too young' and underprepared for the role. Similarly, Gill's appointment has also been met with similar criticism, mainly due to his poor returns outside of Asia. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Team India (@indiancricketteam)Apart from his debut series in Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21, Gill has failed to live up to the expectations of the fans and pundits as he hasn't had a single fifty-plus score in overseas conditions since then.In the 13 Test matches (24 innings) the Punjab-born cricketer has played outside of Asia, he's accumulated just 559 runs at an average of 25.40 with two fifties to his name (both in 2021). As a result, his overall Test numbers have also been badly affected as he has 1893 runs to his name from 32 matches (59 innings) at an average of 35.05 with five hundreds and seven fifties.A herculean task to manage seniorsadvertisementApart from his batting woes, Gill also faces the challenge of managing a team full of several senior players. Likewise, Smith also had to manage veterans such as Gary Kirsten, Jacques Kallis, Herschelle Gibbs, Shaun Pollock, among others. However, he passed the Test with flying colours, making the team gel as a unit and take the fiercest of opposition head-on.Similarly, with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and KL Rahul in the team—both of whom have previously captained India—it won't be an easy task for Gill to marshal his troops. However, he will need to find a middle ground between authority and camaraderie to lead the team forward while maintaining amicable relations with everyone.A defining chapter beginsThe prince of Indian cricket is ready to usher the team into the dawn of a new era, but will face several sets of challenges in his path, which will turn out to be the real test of his character. He will have to take a leaf out of Smith's book to succeed in what would be the toughest phase of his career so far.By the end of his career, Smith managed to etch his name in history books as the most successful skipper (in terms of wins) in Test cricket, having led South Africa to 53 wins. While there's no guarantee that Gill will also finish his career with such prodigious numbers, the youngster does have the fire in his belly to take Indian cricket to new heights.When Gill walks out for the toss for the first Test against England in Headingley, his every move will be scrutinised. The 25-year-old has a lot riding on his shoulders and needs to be prepared for the storm that lies ahead of him.

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