Shubman Gill’s first major phase as India’s Test captain has been encouraging, but the role is about to ask fresh questions of him. India begin the first of two Tests against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium, with Gill carrying two connected responsibilities: leading the side and continuing to score heavily at No. 4.
Gill was not a surprise captaincy choice after Rohit Sharma announced his Test retirement in May 2025. India had other names with leadership experience, but the selectors, led by Ajit Agarkar, chose a younger player they could back for a longer stretch.
Why India moved towards Gill
Jasprit Bumrah had already led India in Rohit’s absence. He captained in England in 2022, was deputy on the Australia tour, and led the team in Perth when Rohit was away on paternity leave. Bumrah also led in Sydney when Rohit sat out because of poor form.
Yet Bumrah’s workload was a clear concern. His bowling action places heavy strain on his body, and the source notes that it would be difficult for him to be available for every Test from this point. He is not part of the Sri Lanka tour, as he is recovering from an impact injury to his left knee.
K.L. Rahul was another possible option, having captained India across formats in a stand-in capacity. The selectors, however, went with Gill. At that stage, he did not have deep First Class captaincy experience, though he was already an established captain at Gujarat Titans.
England tour gave Gill a strong start
Gill’s first big assignment as Test captain came in England, and his batting returns were exceptional. Across five Tests, he made 754 runs, including four centuries in 10 innings. Those numbers mattered because they came while he was settling into a demanding leadership role.
He began the series with 147 in the first innings at Leeds. India lost that match despite being in control at different stages, but Gill’s personal start was firm and clear. It also showed that the captaincy had not reduced his ability to build a long innings.
The best example came in Birmingham. Bumrah sat out that Test as part of a pre-arranged workload plan, leaving Gill with more responsibility. He responded with 269 in the first innings and 161 in the second, the latter made at a strike rate of 99.38 as India pushed towards a declaration.
His 430 runs in that Edgbaston Test were the second-highest aggregate by a batter in a single Test. The only higher mark mentioned in the source is Graham Gooch’s 456, made against India at Lord’s in 1990.
A quieter phase, then a different kind of hundred
After Birmingham, Gill had a brief lean spell by his own high standard, scoring 34 runs across three innings. India then reached Manchester trailing 1-2 in the series after defeat at Lord’s. They could not afford another loss if they wanted to keep the series alive.
The match situation became severe. England declared with a lead of 311 and asked India to bat for more than five sessions. India’s start was poor, as Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan fell in Chris Woakes’ first over without a run on the board.
Gill then produced an innings very different from his aggressive Edgbaston hundreds. Batting with the experienced Rahul, he concentrated on survival, judgment outside off stump, and careful shot selection. For more than six hours, he resisted England’s attack before chasing a ball from Jofra Archer just before lunch on the final day and being caught behind.
That innings added to the early evidence that Gill can adapt his batting to the match situation. He had already shown he could dominate. In Manchester, he showed he could slow down and absorb pressure when India had little room for error.
Galle brings the next test
The Sri Lanka series now places Gill in another setting. The captaincy decision has looked justified so far because his runs have come quickly and in difficult passages of play. Still, a Test captain is judged over time, and each new series brings different demands.
At Galle, Gill’s task is simple to state and harder to deliver: make the right calls as captain while remaining India’s central batter. His England tour gave him a strong base. The Sri Lanka Tests will show how he carries that form and authority into the next challenge.
Source: The Hindu Cricket.