Mumbai: Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir are embarking on their first tour of England on Thursday night — Gill on his maiden tour as Test captain, while Gambhir will be going there for the first time as head coach. And to make matters worse for both of them, Team India is taking up the big challenge of a five-Test tour without players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, both of whom have announced their retirement from Test cricket just before the tour.
So, the first question thrown at the new India captain was whether he is facing any extra pressure because it is his first tour as captain, and that too without stalwarts like Rohit and Virat.
But Gill met it with a straight bat. He said he is not under any extra pressure and expressed confidence that his team will do well on the tour, which starts with the first Test at Headingley, Leeds, on June 20.
“I think there is pressure every time you play and match or start a tour. As such, there is pressure ahead of every series, but there would not be any extra pressure. Rohit and Virat are very experienced players, and it is very difficult to fill the space, but as a team, we have a lot of experience, and we have played a lot of matches,” said Gill at the pre-departure press conference in Mumbai on Thursday.
“The players and the team are all used to the pressure. We are not that inexperienced players. The batting and bowling combination in our team is very good,” said the India Test captain.
Gambhir responded to the question on the pressure in his typical style and said he is always under pressure, whether the team wins or loses.
“First of all, I am always under pressure. I was under pressure after the Australia tour, I was under pressure after we won the Champions Trophy. Because being the coach, you want the results. It does not change with winning or losing,” said the head coach.
Gambhir said the players are all excited and want to do well even though they will be touring England for the first time.
“We are on such a big tour and such an exciting tour as well. It is not easy in England. Everyone is excited. Everyone wants to do well. It is an opportunity to do something special for the country.
“It is a team thing. For me, the most exciting thing is that we have got really good players in this squad who are really willing to go out there and express themselves,” said Gambhir.
Gill also talked about his first reaction when he got the news that he would be India’s new Test captain and said they have not decided what position he will bat in. He has opened in the previous tours and has also batted at No.3. But with Rohit Sharma not there, the team management has to also take a call on who will partner Gill if he decides to open, Yashasvi Jaiswal or Abhimanyu Easwaran, the Bengal opener who is yet to debut.
“Firstly, when I came to know that I would get an opportunity like this, at the beginning, it was very overwhelming. It was quite overwhelming with the whole experience. But having said that, I think it is a big responsibility. And looking forward, there is a great chance that we will be presented first. And we haven’t really decided on the (batting) position yet. We still have some time. We have a spot match in London. So, we still have time to decide on the batting order,” said Gill.
India will be playing five Tests in the key phase of rebuilding the squad after the retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, and without senior bowlers like Mohammad Shami and R Ashwin.
India’s fixtures on the England tour:
1st Test, June 20–24 – Headingley, Leeds
2nd Test, July 2–6 – Edgbaston, Birmingham
3rd Test, July 10–14 – Lord’s, London
4th Test, July 23–27 – Old Trafford, Manchester
5th Test, July 31 – August 4 – The Oval, London.
(IANS)
