Courtesy: X
On Thursday, June 19, the newly appointed Indian Test captain, Shubman Gill, attended the press conference ahead of the first Test of the five-match series against India at Headingley in Leeds. The 25-year-old has been thrusted into the new responsibility after the sudden retirement of Rohit Sharma last month while being the captain of the Test team, and now, he will be looking to hit his straps not only in the field, but with the bat as well, to lead his team by example.
With less than 24 hours remaining to the first ball at Headingley in Leeds, Shubman Gill was asked to compare the Test series win in England to the IPL title, to which he had no hesitation in giving an answer. The Indian cricketing star stated that he will put the Test series win in England ahead of the IPL title since a player gets a chance to compete in an overseas Test series just a handful of times unlike the annual T20 franchise tournaments.
In my opinion, winning a test series in England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa are bigger: Shubman Gill
In the video of the aforementioned question, which was shared by Sky Sports on their official X account, Shubman Gill was quoted as saying, “Definitely the test series, in my opinion. You know, you don't get many opportunities as a captain to be able to come to England. Maybe two, if you are the best of your generation, maybe three and IPL comes every year and you get to go have a crack at it every year. So in my opinion, winning a test series in England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa are bigger.”
Watch the video here:
Notably, in his Test career, which began in 2020-21 season, Shubman Gill has been able to play just three matches in three separate years in England, once against England at Edgbaston in 2022 apart from the World Test Championship (WTC) finals in 2021 and 2023 at the Utilita Bowl and The Oval. The right-handed batter has scored just 88 runs at a poor average of 14.66 in six innings in England, which is something he will be interested in putting right in the upcoming five Test matches against the hosts this summer.
