How 3 Phone Calls Helped Shubman Gill Get a Perfect Captaincy Debut in England?

Shubman Gill, India's Test captain, had a great Test series against England. Although it was his first as a captain, he ended up breaking the records of India's greatest players. However, there were various things which shaped his redemption in the Test format.

In the Test format, the Indian team is currently going through a transition phase. At this time, taking the captaincy of the team brings a lot of pressure. But for the new Indian captain, it meant an opportunity to create his redemption arc in the Test format.

Recently, some of Gill’s friends and coaches talked about in the Test format possible. From averaging less than 30 in the Test format, to breaking records in his first series as a captain. Now, Captain Gill prepares for the home series against West Indies, which is set to begin on October 2.

Let's take a look at how Shubman Gill made his redemption possible in the Test format.

1. Gill Informed of India Leadership

With Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announcing their retirements, it was questioned who would lead the Indian team. Since RoKo communicated with the BCCI for the same, the officials started looking for a new captain. A month before the official announcement, Shubman Gill had a meeting with Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir.

In the meeting, he was informed that he would lead the team in the Anderson Tendulkar Trophy. Although Gill was happy with this news, it also brought down some pressure on him. It was all due to the outside noises, in the playing XI.

2. Training Sessions Backed by Analytics

As soon as Gill was informed that he would be leading the Indian team, he knew it was the right time to practice. He called his friend, Avinash Kumar, to carry the Dukes ball too in the practice sessions. Avinash was a part of the Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2025 edition as a sidearm thrower.

Gill instructed Avinash to bowl at the stumps, as. When he stepped on the front foot, a gap was created between the bat and the pad. This issue has cost Gill his wicket a number of times, as he started to work on the same.

With the issue remaining for years, it is also because of Gill's batting ego. He was able to dominate the opposition also with the same technique, which helped it to remain unnoticed. But he knew that the English conditions would be a challenge, so .

Moreover, he also presented a data analysis of the last ten years. This date was provided to him by his friends and people who have worked with him for a long time. The results showcased that 80% of the runs were scored behind the square, a spot where Gill struggled the most. Gill had questions that he might fail, but his father gave him the much-needed confidence.

3. Three Calls That Changed Everything

Ahead of the England tour, Shubman Gill made three phone calls. These calls were made to Steven Smith, Kane Williamson, and Sachin Tendulkar. As Gill wanted to know more about the English conditions, no one could have told him better than these stars.

Smith talked about the mental pressure while batting in the English conditions. He also told Gill that the bowlers would attack him mostly, and he should create a muscle memory to defend those balls. Later, he had a talk with Kane Williamson.

Williamson also told him to play with gentle hands and not go for drives. Along with that, he also advised Gill to give 45 minutes to the English bowlers, and then it will be a feast for him in England. Now it was time for him to call Sachin Tendulkar, and Gill was nervous for the same.

But Tendulkar gave him some great tips, which helped Gill in the England tour. He told Gill to turn his bat towards mid off, which will minimise the gap between bat and pad. To this, Gill also said, “Sachin Sir bol rahe hai toh galat kaise ho sakta hai.”

All these series of events did help Shubman Gill in the England tour. He silenced all the trolls with his bat, scoring 754 runs in the series. In his very first series, he ended up breaking the records of legends such as Sunil Gavaskar, Virat Kohli, Graham Gooch, and many more.