Shubman Gill would prize captaining India to a Test series victory in England higher than going all the way in the Indian Premier League.
Gill is set for his first assignment since succeeding Rohit Sharma as skipper as he leads a new-look India side in the first of five Tests against Ben Stokes’ England at Headingley this week.
The future of Test cricket and how it fits into an increasingly log-jammed calendar is frequently scrutinised in the current landscape of T20 franchise leagues – and none are bigger than the IPL.
Gill may be one of the IPL’s biggest poster boys and won the title with Gujarat Giants in 2022 but he still views Tests, and especially series wins outside of Asia, 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,” Gill said.
“In my opinion winning a Test series in England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa are bigger.”
India will be without retired trio Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin as they bid to seal a first Test series win in England since 2007, having been held to a 2-2 draw last time out.
Gill did not reveal his XI but confirmed he will step in to Kohli’s usual position of No.4 in the batting order, the position in which the great Sachin Tendulkar made 13,492 of his world-record 15,921 Test runs.
Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant carry heavyweight reputations, as does Gill, who pointed out many others in his team are unburdened by past failures in England.
“A lot of people talk about us not having experience but there are positives that we don’t really have any baggage coming to England because not all of the players have been to England,” he said.
“That could be one thing that makes the difference for us because we won’t be carrying any baggage. We are all very motivated.”
Content Source: www.perthnow.com.au