Shubman Gill’s press interactions have stood out for their candor and humor. As India’s new Test captain, he didn’t hesitate to poke fun at an English journalist who doubted India’s chances of winning at Edgbaston. After India’s historic victory at the venue, Gill’s lively personality shone through in front of the media.
Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin shared his appreciation for Gill’s authenticity, noting how unusual it is among top cricketers today.
“𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒃𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒓. 𝑯𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒑𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘. 𝑯𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒔,” 𝑨𝒔𝒉𝒘𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝑻𝒖𝒃𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒍.
Ashwin observed that many players are often groomed to say only rehearsed lines in press conferences, but Gill’s approach is refreshingly different.
Media Tactics and Gill’s Calm Response
Ashwin explained that overseas media frequently target captains to rattle the whole team. However, Gill has handled this pressure with composure.
“𝑰𝒏 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏, 𝒊𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅.
He cautioned that his comments shouldn’t be misunderstood, emphasizing:
“𝑫𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒙𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒃𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝑮𝒊𝒍𝒍.”
Gill’s Record-Breaking Performance
In the Edgbaston Test, Gill produced a stunning performance, scoring 269 and 161, becoming only the second player ever to make over 150 in both innings of a Test match. India thumped England by 336 runs to level the five-match series 1-1, marking Gill’s first Test win as captain.
The 24-year-old, who was ranked 23rd before the series, has now climbed 15 places to a career-best No.6 in the ICC Test batters’ rankings after his aggregate of 430 runs in the match. So far, he has amassed 585 runs in the series, with three Tests still to come.
Gill’s previous highest ranking was 14th, achieved in September 2023.
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