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Shubman Gill Slams Ton, Makes History In 1st Game As India Captain. Joins Virat Kohli, Sunil Gavaskar
Shubman Gill 's 1st day in office as India Test captain began on a historic note as the 25-year-old slammed his sixth Test ton in style against England on Day 1 of the first test at Headingley. After Rohit Sharma 's retirement, Gill was chosen for the captain's position. If there were any apprehensions (with a poor overseas record as batter), Gill put that all to rest slamming only his second Test ton outside India. At 25 years and 285 days, Gill is the fourth youngest behind Herbie Taylor, Alastair Cook and Steven Smith to score a ton in his first match as captain. He is the 23rd player to slam a century in his debut innings as captain. Among Indians he is the fourth after Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar, Virat Kohli to achieve the feat.
Hundred in debut innings as India's Test captain
164* Vijay Hazare vs Eng Delhi 1951
116 Sunil Gavaskar vs NZ Auckland 1976
115 Virat Kohli vs Aus Adelaide 2014
102* Shubman Gill vs Eng Headingley 2025
Meanwhile, former cricketer Yograj Singh believes India's newly crowned Test captain Shubman Gill needs to lead from the front and has to take the team forward along with him, just like Kapil Dev did in the 1983 World Cup, in his first assignment against England, which begins on Friday at Headingley.
According to Yograj, Gill must set his individual scoring target high and take the team with him. He also dropped the series prediction and believes India has the potential to conquer England and stand victorious on the opposition's territory for the first time since 2007.
"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 told ANI.
India is poised to witness a new era in the Test format without its batting mainstays, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who retired from the format last month. India has infused young blood and a new skill set to fill the gap left by the departure of the two seasoned pros.
Apart from the batting bigwigs, India will miss off-spinner Ravichandran Aswhin and the plethora of variations he brought. Ashwin had his last dance in Australia and announced his retirement midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
