As Gill matures into India's Test captain, Ghavri has a word of caution

The Hindu

24-05-2025

Lakhwinder Singh moved mountains to make his son a cricketer, but former India fast bowler Karsan Ghavri, too, played a significant role in shaping Shubman Gill's career.
More than a decade ago, Ghavri was overseeing the BCCI pace bowlers' academy in Mohali. During a U-19 camp, he struggled to find young batters. Initially, they conducted drill sessions in an indoor facility, but after a week, Ghavri realised there were no batters available to face the pacers. He requested the Punjab Cricket Association for U-16, U-19, or U-23 batters to help.
Gill was consumed by his love for the sport. When not training at the academy in Mohali, he would play tennis-ball cricket. 'Around this time, I remember it was raining one day and there was leakage in the indoor facility, so we had to stop our practice sessions. Assistant coach Yoginder Puri and I walked across the road to this huge ground, which hosts PCA's district games, and saw some kids playing in the rain. One young boy caught my attention because of his batting style, and that kid was Shubman,' Ghavri said.
Moments later, Ghavri walked up to a gentleman, Lakhwinder Singh, sitting outside the boundary.
'I asked him whether he knew about this boy who was batting so well. To my surprise, he replied, ' Woh mera beta hai (he is my son).' I told him not to allow Shubman to play tennis-ball cricket and insisted on bringing him on board for our camp,' Ghavri recollected.
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'Shubman was just 11 or 12, and I wanted him to face our U-19 fast bowlers. He came to our camp the next day, and over the next few days, he gelled so well with our group that he started training with our boys. Every day, he would bat for an hour. During the camp, the U-19 bowlers were given a fresh, new ball every day, and he faced some of the promising young bowlers, including Sandeep Sharma and Baltej Singh. He played them really well,' Ghavri said.
Ghavri asked Sushil Kapoor, the academy's administrative manager at the time, to place Gill in the U-14 squad for Punjab. Gill's impressive performances there led to his inclusion in Punjab's age-group teams.
It was largely because of Ghavri's efforts that PCA roped in Gill in its age-group teams and provided him with all the support en-route to his journey of becoming India's 37th Test captain.
Back then, Ghavri, did not imagine that the young batter would eventually become India's Test captain, succeeding Rohit Sharma. But the former cricketer was certain about the young gun's incredible talent. So much so, that he was convinced Gill would emerge as the 'next superstar of Indian cricket if he remained grounded'.
On Saturday, as the national selectors handed the big responsibility to Gill, Ghavri was happy, but also had a word of caution for the new captain.
'Leading a team in the Indian Premier League and captaining India are two different things. Being the captain of a very young team, the pressure will always be more on Shubman. But he should take this as an opportunity and prove himself as proper Test cricketer,' Ghavri told Sportstar.
Despite the likes of Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul in its ranks, the batting unit is largely inexperienced. | Photo Credit: RAGU R/ The Hindu
With Virat Kohli and Rohit moving on from Test cricket, Gill will have to fill the void, and that, by no means, will be easy. Though he has enjoyed success in Tests at home, an average of 25 in 28 innings in overseas Tests, does not quite speak highly. In fact, Gill could just score 88 runs in six innings in England, whereas his only century outside India came in Bangladesh in December 2022.
So, there are obvious concerns. Ghavri believes that the selectors should have ideally picked Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara to add solidity to the batting unit. 'They (Rahane and Pujara) would have been effective because of their experience. Now, one has to see who has the temperament for Test cricket. The bowling unit is quite formidable, and maybe, we will be able to claim 20 wickets, but for that, we also need to put up at least 400 odd runs. Now, the question remains, who's going to do it?' Ghavri wondered.
'Shubman has the temperament, but it needs to be seen whether he can hang in there and score those runs. Most of these guys are very comfortable in T20 cricket, so it is not easy to switch formats. In such a crucial tour, Shubman, KL Rahul, (Yashasvi) Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan need to step up and steady the batting order.'
Having featured in 39 Test matches and claiming 109 wickets, Ghavri understands the challenges a touring team faces in England. Keeping that in mind, he expects Gill to not crumble under pressure and keep calm. 'It is a huge pressure and there's no denying it,' Ghavri said. 'But when he takes the field, he has to be a good leader - which he is - and bring the best out of the players. Apart from this, keeping everyone together will be the key.'
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'When Virat and Rohit were around, the youngsters had huge respect for them because both of them were legends. But in this team, nobody is a legend right now, and this tour of England will be a test of their character, and it will be interesting to see how they conduct themselves in tricky situation.'
Despite the likes of Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul in its ranks, the batting unit is largely inexperienced and in English conditions, it would certainly not be easy to bat out for long. 'Gill ko lamba khelna hoga (Gill has to play long) and he will have to ensure that others score as well. It's a huge challenge. We have all seen him as a batter, and are aware of his capability, but his real test is now,' Ghavri added.
But having seen Gill since his formative years, the former cricketer is hopeful that he would make the most of the opportunity. 'He has worked really hard to come so far, and now that there's a big chance, I'm sure he will give his best effort.'