As India gets ready to take on England for the 1st Test at Headingley, Captain Shubman Gill shared some insights about the team’s tactics.
Shubman Gill is set to lead India as the full-time Test captain, and his first assignment comes against England. The biggest challenge for the young captain lies ahead, as he’s been given a fairly young team to counter ‘Bazball’ in English conditions.
Gill Set for Captaincy Debut as India Faces Bazball Test
The new-look Indian team features a blend of experience and youth, with the batting order seeing major changes following the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. It is believed that Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan are expected to be part of the playing XI for the first Test.
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Ahead of the match, Shubman Gill opened up about his mindset and strategy in a press conference.
“You Can’t Win Without 20 Wickets”: Gill Eyes Four-Pacer Setup
Gill highlighted that India is considering playing four fast bowlers, stressing that taking wickets is the key to winning a Test match. He made it clear that India does not want to repeat the mistake made in Australia, where the team went in with just 2–3 frontline pacers, a spinner, and a fast-bowling all-rounder — a combination that had poor results. In contrast, Gill hinted at fielding three or even four frontline pacers this time to focus on taking all 20 wickets.
“You can’t win a Test match without taking 20 wickets, no matter how many runs you have scored. So, that has been one of our key discussion points — how we’re gonna take 20 wickets. And there might be a case, you know, where we could only be going with some pure batters, and you could see a bowling all-rounder and three to four premier fast bowlers or proper bowlers.”
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Gill also addressed the important question of handling pressure as captain and how it affects his batting approach:
“Honestly, when I want to go out there and bat, I just want to play as a batsman — not really want to think that I’m the captain of the team, because I think that sometimes puts too much pressure on you,” Gill said. “Whenever I’m going out there, I want to play as a batsman and want to dominate the opposition and be the best batsman in the series, and that’s what I’m trying to look at.”
Gill: Winning a Test Series Overseas Means More Than an IPL Title
With experience leading teams at the U19 level and captaining the Gujarat Titans in the IPL, Gill was asked which he considers the bigger opportunity. He responded candidly, saying it's Test cricket — and shared that winning a Test series overseas is more meaningful to him than lifting an IPL trophy.
“The Test series, in my opinion,” Gill said. “You don’t get many opportunities as a captain to be able to come to England — maybe two; if you are the best of your generation, maybe three. And IPL comes every year, and you get to have a crack at it every year. So, in my opinion, winning a Test series in England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa is bigger,” he concluded.
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