Indian Test captain Shubman Gill values a Test series victory in England more than winning the IPL. He sees SENA country Test wins as the ultimate achievement, highlighting the rarity of such opportunities compared to the annual IPL.

Team India Test captain Shubman Gill gave a straightforward answer on what he cherishes more between leading the side to the Test series win in England and winning the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Shubman Gill’s Team India will embark on a new era of red-ball cricket when they take on England in the first Test of the five-match series against England at Headingley in Leeds on Friday, June 20. India will play their first Test series without the stalwarts - Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin.

Rohit and Kohli retired from red-ball cricket before the squad announcement for the England tour, while Ashwin called it quits from international cricket midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in December last year. With the retirements of three superstars of cricket from the longest format, the Test series against England is crucial for Team India as it marks the beginning of a generational shift in red-ball cricket.

England Test series win over IPL glory: Why?

Speaking at the press conference on the eve of the Headingley Test, Shubman Gill was asked by the reporter to choose his ‘magnificent’ moment between England Test series win and IPL glory. To which, India Test skipper picked the former, stating it is a big opportunity as a captain to win a Test series on English soil.

He also said that the Test series wins in SENA nations (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) as the ultimate achievement.

“You don't get many opportunities as a captain to be able to come to England -- maybe two, if you're the best of your generation, maybe three -- and you get to have a crack at the IPL every year," the 25-year-old said.

“In my opinion, winning a Test series in England, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa are bigger," he added.

Scroll to load tweet…

 

Shubman Gill won his maiden IPL title with the Gujarat Titans in 2022. In the recently concluded IPL season, Gill led the Titans to the playoffs after the side finished third on the points table, but their campaign came to an end with a defeat to the Mumbai Indians in the Eliminator.

Meanwhile, winning a Test series in England has been a challenging task for Team India, as they have won only three times in 1971, 1986, and 2007. The Shubman Gill-led side has an arduous task of ending an 18-year drought of clinching a Test series on English soil.

Unfazed by captaincy pressure

Speaking about his new role as a Test captain, Shubman Gill stated he wanted to focus more as a batter rather than thinking about the captaincy pressure. However, he is honoured to have gotten an opportunity to lead Team India in Tests.

“When I want to go out there and bat, I want to play as a batter and not think about the captaincy, which can put pressure on me. I want to be the best batter in the series,” Gill said.

“Yes, definitely. It’s the biggest honour a player can get. Captaining your country in Test cricket is something not many have the opportunity to do. I’m very excited about it,” he added.

Shubman Gill has been entrusted with the responsibility of leading Team India in red-ball cricket at the age of 25, making him the youngest Test captain of India in the 21st century.

Gill has captaincy credentials under his belt, having led Team India in the T20I series against Zimbabwe and the Gujarat Titans in the IPL. He also led Punjab across all age levels in domestic cricket.