The China Mail - Shubman Gill: India's elegant captain

The stylish batsman scored a remarkable 754 runs in five Tests, falling just 20 shy of Sunil Gavaskar's long-standing series record for an Indian cricketer.

Gill, nicknamed "Prince", arrived in England in early June under intense pressure and with a modest Test average of 35.

Not only was he succeeding Rohit Sharma as captain, he was also filling the number four slot vacated by the great Virat Kohli, who followed Rohit into Test retirement in May.

But Gill has led from the front in spectacular style, combining an effortless elegance with an ability to go through the gears and innovate when necessary.

The 25-year-old scored 147 in his first innings of the series at Headingley.

During the second Test at Edgbaston he compiled a majestic 269 in the first innings and a turbo-charged 161 in the second innings as India won to level the series.

After a quiet third Test at Lord's, won by the hosts, Gill returned to form in Manchester, grafting for 103 in 238 balls as the tourists battled successfully to draw the match and keep the series alive.

An unnecessary first-innings run-out in the fifth Test at the Oval left him an agonising 31 runs short of Gavaskar's mark and he fell for just 11 in his final innings of the campaign.

Gill grew into his role as captain during a series in which he faced several challenges, including the vocal presence of several senior players and the limited availability of paceman Jasprit Bumrah.

The series was still alive heading into the final match in London but India appeared to be sliding inexorably towards defeat before England suffered a dramatic collapse, with fast bowler Mohammed Siraj doing most of the damage.

The nervy six-run win turned a potential 3-1 series defeat into a 2-2 draw, dramatically changing the narrative, and Gill collected India's player-of-the-series award to add gloss to his tour.

- Child prodigy -

Born in Fazilka, near the border with Pakistan, Gill moved to Mohali aged eight to be closer to better cricket facilities.

As a boy he wanted to know what Kohli's scores and achievements were when he was at an equivalent age.

And when Kohli, a former India captain, first saw his eventual successor in the nets, he said he had not even had 10 percent of Gill's talent when the same age.

Gill made his one-day international debut in 2019 but it was in his first Test series, in Australia in 2020/21, that he caught the eye, notably with a fluent 91 in India's thrilling series-clinching win at the Gabba.

His first Test hundred came in Chattogram at the end of 2022 and a month later, aged 23, he became the youngest player to make a one-day international double-century, smashing 208 off 149 balls against New Zealand.

But it has not all been plain-sailing for the prodigiously talented batsman, whose average dipped below 30 after a duck against England in Hyderabad last year.

Rahul Dravid, the then India coach, resisted the temptation to drop Gill, who went on to make two centuries during a series India won 4-1.

Gill, who has skippered India in T20 cricket and leads the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League, was the man chosen to replace Rohit as Test skipper despite his relative youth.

He has passed his first major test, with elated India great Sachin Tendulkar posting on social media after Monday's thrilling success: "Series 2–2, Performance 10/10!"

V.Liu--ThChM