NEW DELHI, May 25, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - India's new Test captain Shubman Gill 
said Sunday that his mantra is "leading by example" and that he relishes the 
challenge of starting the new role in an all-important tour of England.

The 25-year-old Gill was named Rohit Sharma's successor on Saturday, when the 
selectors announced the team for the five-Test series in England beginning 
June 20.

"To be able to get this opportunity is a great honour... it's a big 
responsibility," Gill said in a video released by the Board of Control for 
Cricket in India (BCCI).

"I'm looking forward to this exciting opportunity and I think the upcoming 
series in England is going to be a very exciting one," he added.

"I believe in leading by example -- not just by performance, but, I think, 
off the field by discipline and hard work."

Gill will take charge of a team in transition after the shock retirements of 
stalwarts Rohit and Virat Kohli -- who resigned within days of each other 
this month.

"As a captain, a leader should be able to know when to step in, but also when 
to give space to the players," he said.

"Because everyone has... had a different life and grown up differently, 
everyone has a different personality.

"A good leader should always be able to know what makes his players to be 
able to have the best performance."

- 'Good selection' -

Gill has led Gujarat Titans into the playoffs of the ongoing Indian Premier 
League T20 tournament.

A top-order batter with a wide range of shots, Gill was identified as a 
batting successor to Kohli after impressing on his Test debut in Melbourne, 
where he opened and made 45 and an unbeaten 35 as India beat Australia by 
eight wickets.

He has watched Kohli as batter and captain from close quarters before he 
became deputy to Rohit in the ODI format.

Kohli was "always very aggressive, always wanting to lead from the front with 
hunger and passion", Gill said.

Rohit was "also someone who was always very attacking on the field", but was 
also "very calm and tactically always very present", and was good at being 
"communicative to the players" telling them what he wants.

Those are the "qualities that I learned from them", he said.

Gill has played 32 Tests, scoring 1,893 runs at an average of 35.05 with five 
hundreds.

Some have raised question marks over his record outside India, but former 
captain Sunil Gavaskar said a young Gill could serve as a long-term choice.

"It's a good selection, because we're looking to the future," Gavaskar told 
TV channel India Today.

"Yes, you might argue that he has only played 30-odd Tests," he added.

"But several Indian captains had even fewer matches under their belts before 
being handed the reins -- and many went on to enjoy long tenures."