Shubman Gill wants India to dominate – Ben Stokes will have other ideas
Shubman Gill can never be accused of lacking confidence. Gill, the new India captain, has his nickname 'Prince' stamped on his cricket bat and he is going to need that self-assurance when he comes face to face with Ben Stokes over the next six weeks.
Under Stokes and Brendon McCullum, England have carved out a new style and, for all its ups and downs, Bazball achieves one thing; it rattles opposing captains.
Pat Cummins, Rohit Sharma and Tom Latham have all spoken in the past about how they have had to reconsider their tactics and respond to the way England, and Stokes, challenge their thinking.
Holding your nerve and staying calm is easier said than done when face to face with England on the charge. Cummins's eyes were spinning like a fruit machine at Old Trafford two years ago as England went on the rampage, and that image will remain with England as they prepare for the Ashes this winter.
Gill will require a stiff backbone in his first series as captain, leading one of the world's most scrutinised sports teams, as they embark on the challenge of winning a series in England for the first time since 2007.
Gill has inherited the No 4 position too, which in itself would be enough responsibility for a 25-year-old to handle without the burden of leadership. The role has been held by Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli since the early 1990s, before Gill was born, let alone picked up a cricket bat for the first time on his father's farm in the Punjab.
Gill comes to the job with a Test average of 35 and much to prove away from home. He averages 29 outside of India and 31 against pace, which will be what England will throw at him in Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue.
But it is the ultimate challenge, and Gill is relishing it. He has the world at his feet. Whether he can seize the moment will become clearer over the next five Tests.
'Hopefully we find ourselves in a position where he might scramble his own mind but we will not go out there purposely to put pressure on a new captain,' said Stokes, but he knows from his time playing in India the pressure Gill is under.
On the For the Love of Cricket podcast this week, England's Jos Buttler said: 'I don't think we can quite understand the level of interest and the stardom that these guys have. You see it around the IPL [Indian Premier League], you're aware of it, but actually living that yourself… I think they say the Indian Test captain is like the third or fourth most influential person in India, behind the prime minister etc – so you really are put up on that pedestal. It's going to be a huge job for him.'
'I want to be the best batsman in the series'
The first question of Gill's initial captain's press conference was about his 'coronation moment' and whether he had grasped the 'enormity' of the responsibility thrust upon him.
If the job can be likened to the prime minister's office then Gill has a politician inside him. He straight-batted every question while saying all the right things.
Sitting back in his chair and exuding calmness, he acknowledged the 'biggest honour' a player can have by captaining India in Test cricket and identified winning a five-Test series in England as a bigger achievement than lifting the IPL title. He shrugged off any thoughts he will walk to the crease with a target on his back now he is captain. 'I want to play as a batsman and dominate opposition and be the best batsman in the series. That is what I am trying to look at.'
Buttler played under Gill for Gujarat Titans in the IPL and believes his captaincy will be a mix of Kohli's hot-headedness and Rohit's level-headedness. Kohli was never a tactical genius, but he gave an edge to India that has permeated through to the next generation; Gill sledged Jonny Bairstow and James Anderson in the last series against England and has been known to upset umpires in the IPL.
Gautam Gambhir, the coach, is a 'prickly character' to quote Ricky Ponting, and he will expect his young captain to be punchy and reflect the self-confidence of Indian cricket.
Gill has consulted both Kohli and Rohit about captaining in England and will lean on Gambhir for advice. Together they want to build a team where players 'feel secure and valued', giving them a longer rope, which will involve shutting out the noise and resisting the pressure to change tack when things inevitably go wrong at some stage.
A captain is only as good as his bowling attack and in Jasprit Bumrah, Gill possesses the ace. To average 19 in Test cricket in the modern era of bigger bats, aggressive batsmen and flat pitches makes Bumrah a true great of the game; a bowler who can take wickets on any surface at any stage of an innings.
Bumrah captained India in Australia when Rohit was unavailable, but the job went to Gill on a full-time basis because of workload fears. Bumrah will play at least three Tests against England, and how Gill uses him will determine whether he has the puff left for a fourth. 'He is young and energetic, he has his own thought process, and that is how it should be. If he needs anything from me, I will always be there for him,' Bumrah said about Gill this week.
The pitch at Headingley is green but dry underneath, and, with sunny weather forecast, the groundsman is leaving the grass on it to try to prevent it breaking up for as long as possible. It is not going to be the seaming paradise on which Anderson and Ollie Robinson rolled India for 78 in the first innings four years ago.
That series ended with India going home due to a Covid scare while 2-1 up. When they came back a year later to finish off the series, England had been rejuvenated by Bazball and romped to victory at Edgbaston.
This time it is India and Gill's chance to show they are the team setting the agenda, and trying to spark new life into their Test team. 'Our side is not experienced but doesn't have any baggage coming to England, because not all have been here before. That could make a difference,' Gill said.
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