India vs England 2025 1st Test: Yograj Singh makes MASSIVE statement about Shubman Gill on captaincy debut, he says…
Shubman Gill (right) and Yograj Singh. (Source: X)
Shubman Gill kicked off a fresh start for Team India in Test cricket, taking over the reigns from Rohit Sharma officially on Friday as the first match of the five-Test series against England got underway at Headingley in Leeds. Gill has now become fifth-youngest cricketer to lead India in Test cricket after Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev and Ravi Shastri at 25 years and 285 days.
Former India cricketer Yograj Singh, father of Indian southpaw Yuvraj Singh, is someone who has kept a close eye on Shubman Gill along with his son. Yuvraj has been like a mentor to Gill since both of them were playing for Punjab Ranji Trophy team.
Yograj Singh believes Gill needs to lead from the front and take the team forward along with him, much like Kapil Dev did in the 1983 World Cup. Gill has massive shoes to fill as he steps into the No. 4 position which has been left vacant by Virat Kohli after his retirement from Test cricket last month. Not only Kohli, Indian Test skipper Rohit Sharma also called time on Test career last month.
With Jasprit Bumrah not keen on taking over as Indian captain and Rishabh Pant's inconsistent form, the Indian selectors didn't have any other choice apart from Shubman Gill.
The first statement of intent comes from #YashasviJaiswal – a shot of pure authority to kick off #TeamIndia's innings! 🙌🏻
The opening pair is looking solid, & the sun is shining bright in England! ☀️🏏
Seekhne nahi, Sikhaane aaye hai 💪
Watch now 👉 https://t.co/PXeXAKeYoj… pic.twitter.com/yUGh3anHjF
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) June 20, 2025
According to Yograj, Gill must set his individual run-scoring target and take the team forward with him. Yuvraj Singh's father also shared his prediction for the five-match series and believes India has the potential to conquer England for the first time in 18 years on English shores.
'A few days ago, I was talking to Yuvraj Singh about Abhishek (Sharma) and Shubman Gill. Yuvraj said he would have to lead from the front. As Shubman Gill goes out to bat, he has to stay at the crease for the maximum time. When a captain leads from the front, and scores run. It is important for Shubman to set a target of 100, 200 or 300. He has to lead from the front. He also has to take everyone forward together, just like Kapil Dev did in the 1983 World Cup. I believe India will win the series,' Yograj Singh was quoted as saying ANI news agency.
Earlier, Yograj Singh had slammed MS Dhoni for ending the 'brotherly' culture in the Indian team. '(We had) Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Javagal Srinath, Anil Kumble, and others. Bhajji (Harbhajan Singh), Yuvi (Yuvraj), Viru (Virender Sehwag), (Mohammed) Kaif, Zaheer (Khan) among youngsters. Combination of elder and younger brothers. That's why they could lead the youngsters and become the greatest of all time. And what we did? We burned out the whole house by just standing for one person. I won't name him. Where is he? See what happened,' said Yograj in an interview to Insidesport website.
Meanwhile, Gill lost the toss in his first match as captain and Ben Stokes sent Team India in to bat first.
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