Despite losing his first match as captain, Gill has already made a strong impression with the bat.
Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara has backed Shubman Gill as a strong leader, praising both his cricketing mind and emotional maturity. Sangakkara, who is also the Director of Cricket at Rajasthan Royals, pointed out how Gill showed signs of calm leadership even during his time with Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The 25-year-old took over as India’s Test captain after Rohit Sharma retired from the format in May. Despite losing his first match as captain, Gill has already made a strong impression with the bat by scoring back-to-back centuries. His 147 in the first innings helped India post a big total of 471 in the Headingley Test. During the ongoing second Test, he went even better, scoring a stunning 269. It is the highest ever score by an Indian Test captain, surpassing Virat Kohli’s previous record.
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Speaking on Sky Sports Cricket, Sangakkara highlighted the role Gill played in settling the Gujarat Titans dressing room after Hardik Pandya’s exit. He said that when Pandya left the franchise and a major auction followed, there was some uncertainty in the camp. Gill, along with the support of Director of Cricket Vikram Solanki and coach Ashish Nehra, helped keep the environment steady. Sangakkara pointed out that despite being a relatively young franchise, Gujarat had already built a proud legacy, having reached a final, won a title, and made the playoffs. Managing expectations in such a setup required maturity, something which Gill delivered.
“I think one of the things that he’s managed to really calm an environment with the support of Vikram Solanki as Director of Cricket and Ashish Nehra as coach. There was a little bit of turmoil when Hardik Pandya left, then they had the big auction and Gujarat [Titans] has a very proud history, even though it is a short one in the IPL,” Sangakkara said.
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He further added that Gill has the cricketing intelligence to read the game well, which is crucial for any captain. However, Sangakkara stressed that emotional intelligence is just as important, especially in cricket where a captain has to deal with a mix of personalities and pressure situations. He explained that in IPL teams, the dressing room includes players from different backgrounds and countries, while in international cricket, a captain has to manage high-quality talent consistently. According to the former Lankan captain, Gill has shown the ability to align with the coach, set a clear vision for the team, and manage people well. These are all the signs of a promising leader.
“He has the cricketing IQ to really manage that. But that is only part of your thinking when you are appointing a captain because emotional intelligence is as important because it is such a crucial decision. So I think Shubman, what I have seen in international cricket and IPL, he has both those qualities. Good emotional intelligence to manage his team to align with the coach, set a vision with the side and really good cricketing IQ as well. He will learn and get better as he goes along,” he added.
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