Indian’s new Test captain Shubman Gill credited Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for the experience he gained under the veterans as his new-look Team India look to take on England in a 5-match Test series, scheduled to begin on June 20. Gill was appointed the Test skipper after Rohit retired from the format last month. This was also followed by Kohli hanging up his boots from Tests as well.
“It can seem like he is not aggressive, but Rohit is very aggressive in terms of his tactics. He is someone who is very clear with his communication prior to the matches, during the series and even after the series, what he wants from the players,” Gill said to SkySports.
“The kind of environment Rohit bhai kept, even if Rohit bhai is swearing at you, you would not take it to your heart. That’s just kind of his personality. I think that’s a great trait to have. He’s firm, but even if he’s being hard on you, you know that it’s not coming from his heart. It’s coming from a team perspective,” he added.
The 25-year-old said he had a conversation with Rohit on the road ahead for the team.
“This is a conversation that I’ve had with Rohit bhai a couple of times that ideally in the next 5, 7 or 10 or 15 years, where would we want the Indian cricket team culture to be?”
He also said he learned so much from the “proactive” leadership of Virat Kohli.
“When I played under Virat, I think his proactiveness in Test matches with the field or with the ideas or with his thinking was something that I liked and that I picked up. If he thinks that, okay, this plan is not working, he would immediately have another plan, communicate to the bowler what he wants from them,” he noted.