Former Indian cricketer Venkatapathy Raju has offered words of advice and encouragement to India’s newly appointed Test captain, Shubman Gill, urging him to approach the leadership role with a positive mindset. Ex-BCCI selector Venkatapathy also backed Gill as the captain and felt that captaincy wouldn’t affect his performance negatively. Gill was appointed India’s Test captain ahead of the upcoming five-match Test series against England, beginning June 20, after Rohit Sharma retired from the longest format in May. Rishabh Pant was named India’s vice-captain. Venkatapathy also cited the example of Rohit Sharma as a leader.
"Not really, not really. You see, what was Rohit Sharma? Rohit Sharma struggled when he played Test cricket, right? But then, when they gave him captaincy for Mumbai Indians, he won trophies. Then suddenly his style of cricket changed. Then he became Indian captain, right? After he became Indian captain, he did well," Venkatapathy Raju told Hindustan Times.
He also pointed to former South African skipper Graeme Smith, who was appointed South Africa’s captain at a very young age.
"So Gill has been part of this Indian team in all formats, right? And then probably, you know, I want to see the example of Graeme Smith. When Graeme Smith was very young for South Africa. He was just 19 when he was made the captain. He made a lot of difference," he said.
"So now the selectors have decided to give the chance to Gill. It's up to the senior members in the team, all the players in the team to support him, right? Because it is a team game. It might change his style also. He might be more responsible. Initially, he might look little nervous, but then that's what cricket is all about. It is a challenge. He has to accept the challenge. He has got five Test matches, hopefully he learns quickly in those games and plays the way he knows," he added.