New Delhi: “I know it’s hard for him.” Gautam Gambhir, terse and still slightly nervous, had been drawn into a discussion about Shubman Gill’s busy assignments in all formats over the next few months. The head coach’s response was a tacit acknowledgment that India’s new Test and ODI captain – not to mention T20I vice-captain – is probably the hardest-working man in international cricket right now. After being pushed on the fifth day of the second Test, India on Tuesday registered a seven-wicket victory over the West Indies here at the Ferozeshah Kotla, scoring the remaining 58 runs of a target of 121 in an hour’s play on the final morning. The victory allowed India to tick some important boxes: marking Gill’s first victory in the Test series (a 2-0 margin), erasing memories of the bombing at the hands of New Zealand at home last year, closing the gap to second-placed Sri Lanka with 24 valuable points in the World Test Championship, and restoring Kuldeep Yadav’s pre-eminence as a spin option offensive.
The Test, however, ended as it began, with questions looming over the long-term wisdom of promoting Gill to multi-format captain in a cricket calendar packed from start to finish, with almost no respect for any prospect of player or spectator fatigue. A day before the start of play last week, Gill had spoken of “mental fatigue” apart from physical fatigue due to the varied demands of batting and strategizing across Tests and ODIs. The balm of a Test series victory, however, appears to have temporarily assuaged those concerns. “It was new to me,” he said of the format change. “Going back to the basics of a particular format is something that suits me.” Nonetheless, the schedule will test his endurance and character. India now immediately head to Australia for an ODI match, which is expected to be high-intensity and eye-catching due to the presence of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli playing under Gill, followed by a T20I series against the same opponent before a full series against South Africa at home, which will also include two Tests. Gill, of course, will feature in all of them. “I try to make the most likely decision in a given situation. Sometimes you have to make bold decisions and (focus on) that I like responsibility. I like being the guy there. I do it my way. Being involved in key decisions is something I love. I think it brings out the best in me. This is what is happening in my life. What also happens, of course, are the races, mountains. Gill now has four wins in seven Tests as captain, including three successive wins across the London Oval to Ahmedabad and Delhi at home. At the same time, with bat in hand, he is second to Bradman after his first 13 Test innings as captain, scoring 946 to the Don’s 1,125 runs. Gill also joins Bradman and Sunil Gavaskar (943 runs) scoring five centuries during this period. Given that most of these races took place in England, Gill gave early indications of his ability to meet the challenge of leading from the front. “You definitely have to separate the two (batsman and captain) when I go to bat. Batting is something I grew up doing since I was 3-4 years old. So when I go out there (to bat), I just want to make decisions as a batsman,” Gill said, making it sound easy. “The team responded well to the new captain” No wonder Gambhir has only one piece of advice for Gill: “Be yourself”. “No one has done him any favors by making him Test captain or one-day captain. He deserves all this. He has worked hard. He has already passed his toughest test as captain in England, five away Tests in difficult conditions against a quality team,” Gambhir added before giving some perspective. “Sometimes we just talk about the captain, but how the team responded to him and his leadership is just as important. He did incredibly well, but so did the band. Wicket was dead: Gill on follow-up call Of course, things aren’t perfect, as the Kotla test showed. Ian Bishop commented on air how the Indian captain needed to be more proactive, and there were times on the fourth morning, when Bumrah and Kuldeep started proceedings, that India looked too defensive. The decision to enforce the follow-on, having already bowled 81.5 overs in West Indies’ first innings, also seemed a bit perplexing, as did the decision not to bowl Nitish Kumar Reddy at all. “We were about 300 runs ahead and the wicket was pretty dead. We thought even if we scored 500 runs we would have to get six or seven wickets on the fifth day. It would have been a tough day for us,” Gill said. Need for faster, bouncier pitches: Gambhir Gambhir, a Delhi cricketer in his playing days, was more scathing in his assessment of the surface. “We could have had a better wicket here. We got the result on day five, but again the nicks need to be retained. There needs to be something for the fast bowlers as well,” he said. “I know we keep talking about the important role spinners play, but when you’ve got probably two quality fast bowlers in the ranks, you want them to be in the game as well.» This could well be an indication of how the pitches might fare at Eden Gardens and Guwahati when South Africa comes calling in exactly a month’s time. “Playing Ranji before SA series is important” “The best thing that happened in the West Indies series was the way the Test guys prepared, going to play the India ‘A’ match against Australia ‘A’. It was very, very important. And playing Ranji Trophy before the South African series will also be equally important,” Gambhir said. “Preparation is something this group of players have done exceptionally well. It’s tough but that’s what professionalism is – trying to use the days to the best of their ability, because we know there’s a very quick turnaround from here to the ODIs, then the T20, and after just four days, back to Test cricket. Rather than just going to the NCA (CoE in Bangalore), the Test specialists (have to) play domestic matches.» The main Test specialist, the Indian captain, will of course be exempt, as he will be busy resting his tired limbs and thinking of strategy. Of course, Gill knows the perfect scenario doesn’t exist: He tried to finish the game with a big hit on Tuesday, but he came away with it. After India’s 10th consecutive Test series victory against the West Indies on the maddeningly low and slow Kotla surface, India now takes to Australia’s bouncier pitches to tackle the white ball. Gill knows he will be expected to already have his plans in place.
