As the Hyderabad-Colombo flight started its descent, the mind raced back to 2005. About two decades ago, Sri Lanka was the place for Greg Chappell’s opening act as India coach. Sourav Ganguly, India’s regular captain then, missed the ODI series, as he was serving an over-rate ban, and Rahul Dravid was the skipper. The next two years turned out to be a period of ferment for Indian cricket.
Circa 2024, and Gautam Gambhir is starting his India coaching stint with a white-ball series in Sri Lanka. Once again, it is the monsoon, although not quite wet. And it is very unlikely that Gambhir’s time with the national team would go the Chappell way. Unlike the Australian great, the former India opener knows Indian cricket inside out. He has proven his mettle as a leader and a mentor at Kolkata Knight Riders. Also, unlike Chappell, Gambhir will not try to impose himself in the dressing room.
The first match of the three-game T20I series would be played on Saturday in Pallekele, and a couple of days prior to that, Shubman Gill, the Indian team’s vice-captain, was asked about the new coach’s approach. “I had only two sessions with him (Gambhir),” Gill told reporters. “This is the first time I’m working with him. But his intent and communications are pretty clear, what he wants.”
Gill is India’s new white-ball vice-captain, but as Hardik Pandya would attest, the position doesn’t guarantee anything. Pandya was removed from the post even after a very successful T20 World Cup as a player. Before him, Ajinkya Rahane was dropped for a couple of Tests in South Africa despite being Virat Kohli’s deputy. Gill has been given the job with an eye on the future, but vice-captaincy doesn’t offer any immunity to a player, nor is it a position of privilege.
The 24-year-old knows that, and he put things in perspective. “I think as a batsman, it doesn’t change much,” he said. “I still need to perform when I’m out there. I need to be able to win matches for my team. But when you are out on the field, you need to make a bit more decisions than you do. I think that’s the major difference.”
It’s important that captain and vice-captain are on the same page and from that perspective, Gill needs to develop a good working relationship with India’s new T20I skipper SuryakumarYadav. “I think everyone has a similar thought process (in the team),” said Gill. I played under Surya bhai in South Africa. I think our understanding (of the game) is pretty similar.”
More than the vice-captaincy, Gill has a bigger responsibility now as an opener. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have hung up their T20I boots, and going ahead, the team seek a stable opening pair in Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the shortest format. Does he need to change anything?
“My performance in T20 cricket in the lead-up to the World Cup wasn’t as per my expectations,” Gill said, an honest admission. “This is a new cycle (before the next T20 World Cup in 2026) and we would be playing around 30-40 T20Is in this period. My job would be to improve my performance as a batsman. As a team, we would look forward to doing even better.
In cricket, certain players like to bat with each other. Sunil Gavaskar and GundappaViswanath, Dravid and VVS Laxman, Kohli and Rahane – the list is long. As it transpired, in Zimbabwe, Gill and Jaiswal enjoyed each other’s company out there in the middle. Gill concurred.
“I think we really enjoy batting with each other,” he said. “The kind of shots that we play and the way we complement each other; we have a very good understanding. Also, it’s good to have a left-right combination.”