Sports desk21 minutes ago
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25 -year -old Shubman Gill was made the new Test captain of India. He will replace Rohit Sharma. Under whose captaincy the team lost the last 2 series against Australia and New Zealand. The first and big challenge in front of Shubman is to make Team India a winning comeback.
5 challenges in front of Shubman 1. Series winning after 18 years in England.
Why Shubman became the Test captain?
In May, 2 senior players of the Indian Test team Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retired. Ravichandran Ashwin also retired before him. After which the team needed a new captain, who is also the permanent member of the team and can handle the responsibility for a long time.
Jaspreet Bumrah and KL Rahul were also contenders, but Bumrah was not given the command due to fitness. At the same time, the selectors believe that Rahul cannot be made a permanent captain. In such a situation, the committee handed over the command to the young Gill, who could handle the team’s reins for a long time.
5 challenges in front of Gill …
1. Do not win series in England for 18 years
The first challenge in front of Gill as captain is a 5 -Test series in England. India did not win the series here since 2007. In 2011, 2014 and 2018, the team lost all three series. During this time, India could win only 2 out of 14 Tests, the team lost in 11, while 2 were drawn.
In 2021, India draws series 2–2 under Virat’s captaincy for the last time. England again came to India in 2024, where she lost 4–1. That is, England has not defeated Team India for 7 years. In front of Gill, India has a challenge to win the series in England after 18 years, there is also a challenge to keep the invincible team invincible against England for 7 years.
2. India’s Test performance improvement
Under the captaincy of Rohit, India lost 0-3 against New Zealand in his home. The team then lost 1-3 in Australia. Due to which India slipped on number-4 in the Test rankings. The challenge in front of Gill is that Team India should get its winning form back.
Before New Zealand, no one had defeated the Test series in the house for 12 years, while India lost after 10 years against Australia. To overcome such a bad form, Shubman will have to focus on winning the team with a new strategy.
3. Providing your own batting in foreigners
Shubman, who made his Test debut in 2020, has 1893 runs in 32 Tests at an average of 35.05. Since her debut, due to the World Test Championship, the world’s pitches have been helpful for the bowlers. Despite this, Gill put 5 centuries and 7 fifty. However, his form abroad is a bit weaker than home conditions.
Gill played 17 Tests in India and scored 1177 runs at an average of 42.03. He put 4 centuries and 5 fifty. Shubman can put only 1 century and 2 fifty in 15 Tests abroad. His average was also just 27.53. Gill’s only century abroad also came to Bangladesh. That is, Gill will also have to prove his own batting from the England series.
4. Handling youth team in transition phase
Senior players like Virat, Rohit and Ashwin retired from the test. Mohammed Shami is not a part of the squad due to Inzari. The team has Jaspreet Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul only senior players. India’s very young team is going to play in England, the age of 9 players is between 21 and 28 years. In such a situation, there is also a challenge to handle India’s transition phase in front of Gill.
Team India faced transition phase for the last time between 2011 and 2013. Then players like Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Sachin Tendulkar left the team together. Then Virat, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashwin and Jadeja took over Team India and made India the number-1 Test team. Gill is a challenge to carry forward this Legacy in front of Gill’s young Team India.
5. To bring India to WTC final
India played the first 2 finals of the World Test Championship started in 2019. The team then won the title match by winning the series at home and abroad under Virat’s captaincy. Although the team could not win the title, Team India could not make it to the final for the third time under Rohit’s captaincy.
The new cycle of WTC is starting from the England series itself. India will play Test series from 5 more teams after England by 2027. The team will be able to make it to the WTC final only by winning most of the matches. Youth Shubman also has a challenge to bring India to the WTC final for the third time.
