He was always the first boy in class. Everyone said to him that he is the best student around. Yes, Shubman Gill was always destined to be the captain of India. But then, it is one thing to be captain and a very different thing to be able to make a mark and deliver. He is no longer competing for honours at the school and college level. He is now pitted against the world’s best in what is one of the most hostile places to play cricket. Edgbaston, for the record, hasn’t been too kind to India and England’s record here speaks for itself. In every sense, Gill has his task cut out.
At Leeds, he had his opportunities. He batted superbly in the first innings and on multiple occasions India had a chance. At the end of Day 4, India were favourites to win the Test match. And yet things did not end well for Gill. It was a case of so near yet so far and he will now have to regroup and deliver. The task is difficult. More so in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah who is most likely so sit out and stay ready for Lord’s. With a new look bowling attack, Gill is expected to breach fortress Edgbaston and square the series.
While for some it is a very difficult challenge, for Gill it is also a great opportunity. To achieve greatness. If India are able to beat England here for the first time ever, the young skipper will be hailed as the superhero. Even if India compete, it will be deemed an acceptable result by most of the fans. In every sense for Gill, the time is now. With the bat and as the leader.
In terms of effort, he is right up there. Yesterday Gill was one of the few first team players who turned up for practice. After attending the pre-match press conference, he was out there for close to three hours. First a round of discussion pitch side with head coach Gautam Gambhir and then a very good batting session at the nets. Unlike match-day-minus-two where he looked a little scratchy, he was on song yesterday and left a lot of balls outside off stump. Once the batting session was done, he came back into the ground and started doing a few sprints with bowling coach Morne Morkel. As we were all wondering what next, Gill joined Sai Sudharsan for a good 15-minute slip catching session. Close to 50 catches were taken between the two and it was evident Gill was keen on addressing the issue of dropped catches that hurt India in Leeds.
🚨 @ShubmanGill PC
Team combination and Bumrah’s availability: Bumrah is surely available. We have to look into this workload management. We have to look into the final combination today at the nets.@RohanDC98 #ENGvsIND #EdgbastonTest pic.twitter.com/hVVsBlDUr9
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) July 1, 2025
By the time he was done, it was close to 4.30pm (BST) and there was hardly anyone else in the ground. The captain, may I say, wants it. And wants it badly. He batted wonderfully well in Leeds and proved how good he is or can be. While the batter in Gill did the job well, now it is time for the leader to step up. Gill knows he can’t lose this one and the next five days will be intense. From what we have seen at Edgbaston, the skipper is ready. He really is.
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