- 5/24/2025
Speaking to India Today, batting great Sunil Gavaskar welcomed Shubman Gill's selection as India's new Test captain. Gavaskar said Gill will improve his numbers as batter and relish the additional responsibility of captaincy. India, on May 24, announced a jumbo 18-man squad for the upcoming five-Test series in England.
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00:00Hello and welcome to our special program which we're calling Shubh Aram because the Shubhangil
00:13era in Indian cricket has begun that after the 25 year old who's played 30 plus test matches for
00:20India was anointed the captain of the Indian test team taking over the mantle from Rohit Sharma and
00:26before that from Virat Kohli now remember alongside announcing Shubhangil the captain there are a few
00:34other important changes that have been made to the Indian test court the selectors picked 18 members
00:42court that will be traveling to England to play five test matches there are a few notable omissions
00:48as well as some interesting inclusions as well and we'll try and take a look at all of that joining
00:53us live will also be our cricket analyst in Sunil Gavaskar and we'll decode the selection and
01:00whether this is the team that can then go ahead and beat England in fact I talk about Mr. Gavaskar
01:06he joins us live sorry why before we take a look at Shubhangil him becoming the fifth youngest captain
01:14to take over the reins of the Indian team I'll start by Jaspreet Bumrah I remember you telling
01:19us that he should have been the ideal candidate to take over as the test captain but now that the
01:25selectors have informed us he's not going to be available for all five test matches at best three
01:30or even four test matches do you think that made the captaincy call a bit easier than for the selectors
01:35yes it definitely would have because otherwise it may be difficult to look beyond Jaspreet Bumrah if
01:43he had been available for all five test matches so the fact that he is not available for all five
01:49test matches because of his physical condition and it's something that we in Indian cricket should
01:54be looking after because he's contributed so much to Indian cricket that we must give him the leeway
02:00to look after his body and therefore be at his best whenever he plays for India to give his best so
02:06yes I think therefore I think it was probably a little bit easier than to have Shubhangil as the
02:13captain of the Indian team okay Shubhangil the fifth youngest captain in Indian test history
02:20him becoming the captain Sahiba your thoughts it's a good selection because we're looking ahead we're
02:26looking to the future uh here's the man who's now got plenty of experience yes you might say that
02:31he's played uh only 30 test matches but there have been so many Indian captains who have played less
02:36test matches than him and then gone on to have a longer tenure as well uh he's he's he uh when you
02:42look at Shubhangil the the the cricketer you see how he approaches the game you see the the the
02:48the seriousness with which he approaches the game the the way uh he holds the game dear to his heart
02:54and therefore uh every every hope that he will go on to become one of the most successful
02:59of Indian skippers it's it's a two-year cycle as well we started new for two two-year cycle for
03:04the world test championship and so therefore giving it to a young uh cricketer uh who will be there
03:09not just for these two years but even for the next couple of cycles or more uh is is the right thing to
03:14do okay uh just looking at his records 32 test matches averages 35 which i would say is a decent
03:22enough average not a great one at that but uh my question to you is how do you see test captaincy
03:28now the extra responsibility impact his batting going forward because at the moment more than a
03:35captain what the Indian team desires is a batting mainstay after two of your senior players have left
03:42uh look whether he's a captain or not the the first couple of test matches is not going to be easy
03:49in England because it could be a little cold and breeze breezy and windy where the wall will move in
03:55the air a little bit and the pitches will be also a little bit fresher so it probably won't be as easy
04:00to bat but he's got the capability we've all seen that in the way he has batted uh everywhere yes he
04:08himself will be a little bit disappointed that he's got off to starts of 30s and 40s and not been able to
04:13convert it into a big one particularly overseas that's what he's not been able to do and that that's
04:18something that can be corrected he's got all the time in the world and i think now with the
04:22with the responsibility of the captaincy he'll probably do even better because i i believe
04:27that sometimes as a captain and if you're a batter you can maybe cut down on a couple of shots which
04:32which are productive but also have some risk percentage associated with it and so if he does
04:38that uh he will be uh scoring uh big runs as well okay okay it is going to be a big test indeed for not
04:45just shubhman gail the captain but a young team that will be playing england in five test matches
04:51sunny gavaskar still with us we spoke about the captaincy now i'm going to get into the nitty-gritties
04:56that is some inclusions as well as some exclusions let's start with that of sharfras khan he's played six
05:03test matches uh for india so far uh he had a decent record in those six test matches that he played he
05:09goes to australia does not get a single game but now finds himself out even though he's fit he's
05:15going to be playing the air tour but misses out in that squad uh how do you see that it's tough but
05:22that's what cricket is all about uh when you get the opportunities you've got to grab them you've got
05:27to make sure that the place is yours you do not take you do not bat uh this next innings uh if you
05:34as if you've got a hundred even if you might have got a hundred in the in the previous innings uh
05:39you've got to get your eye in try and bet and get those runs again in the in the second innings as
05:44well so you must not give anybody a chance to to push you out of the team so it's entirely up to you
05:51to keep on scoring the runs keep on knocking knocking on the doors and break the break the selection
05:55committee's doors down and that's what you've got to do but uh yes i think it is it is a tough call
06:00because uh after the out tour of australia uh there has been no red ball cricket i mean there
06:05there was a ranji trophy but he was injured so he he didn't play so there was no way that he could show
06:10what his form was uh i mean the reason i asked you that question is because he does not get any
06:17game time in the last series uh and then series before that versus new zealand i think uh the entire
06:24squad didn't have a great time i think he got a hundred in in bangalore uh but after that just misses
06:28out uh nothing against someone like a coronary is done really well uh but in the pecking order
06:33does he get pushed that far behind to be left out of the squad sarfraz well well that is that's
06:38what happens that's what that is that is what happens we've seen in indian cricket or even uh
06:43in state cricket sometimes you know the team loses and the guys who are in over 13th and 14th
06:48who haven't played in the game get dropped that is how it is that's how it has been and that's how
06:53because uh you have to be undroppable that is that's most important the only way you can be
06:59undroppable is keep on performing consistently every single time that you get okay talking about
07:05taking your chances uh three years ago karuna put a tweet out uh on social media he writes dear
07:12cricket please give me another chance eight years after he last played a test match for india now returns
07:19to the test setup what a story karuna oh absolutely no question about it it's it's a
07:25it's a tremendous story i mean you know there are two cricketers in in indian cricket that everybody
07:31else and sarfraz khan for example should try and follow to try and emulate now that is jade unadakar
07:38and karuna even jade unadakar played his first test match at a very young age and then took i think
07:44maybe a dozen years or so before he played the other next test match but he persevered he went on
07:49bowling picking wickets after wickets after wickets
07:58okay we seem to be having some trouble with the connection with mr gavaskar we'll try and
08:04establish that connection and get mr gavaskar back but remember we were talking about some young players
08:11that have made the team as well as some that have been left out and uh while sarfraz khan mr gavaskar
08:17was alluding to is unlucky uh to have missed out uh but karuna is there yes sorry uh we we got
08:24disconnected at that moment you were talking about karuna yes well like like unadakar i mean karuna has
08:31kept on uh scoring hundreds and hundreds and big hundreds uh and and kept on the producing the runs
08:37every single innings and that's why uh the selection committee had to had to take him back
08:43because the man in form is is your is one of your best bets because he's got the runs under his belt
08:48he's looking good he's played county cricket in england so he's got the experience of playing county
08:54cricket as well so clearly i think he's got uh you know experience of english conditions so that's a
09:00very very good call to to bring him back in the team so here's one man who's done well in domestic
09:05cricket and now comes back especially last season was outstanding for karuna i'm going to take another
09:10name uh in shreya sahir uh we know that he had been left out of the team he was left out of the contracts
09:15but now seems to be a bought back into the contract the central contracts uh is part of uh you know
09:21the indian team in white ball cricket as well he too had a very good domestic season and i'm not
09:27talking about white ball cricket even in ranji trophy if i'm not mistaken was averaging close to 60 for
09:32the games that he played for mumbai this season uh his collective form i'm looking at his form in white
09:38ball as well as ranji trophy all of it was signaling towards maybe some sort of uh you know return for
09:44shreya sahir that hasn't happened yes i think uh hard lines that you gotta you gotta say uh because he's
09:51done nothing wrong he's he scored again heaps of runs in all forms of the game so it's a little
09:56bit tough uh uh on on shreya sahir maybe you know what happened whereby he lost his uh uh he lost his
10:04contract and that perhaps is still something that maybe is rankling and and uh uh maybe that's uh
10:12that's the reason why uh he can't break it but again he doesn't have to give up he's got age on his
10:19side he's just got to keep on delivering get the big hundreds and uh he could well be back in the
10:24team sooner than later the other big talking points i buy from this selection is mohammad shami and
10:30that's a curious case i'll tell you why because the selectors were asked this question they said that
10:34we've been told he's not fit uh and i understand that that once they get a uh you know sort of an
10:40indication from the medical bcci medical team that he's not fit he should not be there yet i see a
10:45uh newspaper interview with mohammad shami just today itself in which he says he's all set he's
10:53eager to go and he feels shami and bumra are going to be crucial for india going forward so here's a
10:58case of the bowler wanting to go to england and performing for india but there is a case of him not
11:05being fit are india going to miss a shami and should he have then been included why i'm saying i know
11:10fitness is an issue but let's say for a jaspreet bumra you are doing some sort of workload management
11:16where you're going to arrest him for a few games could that have been done with mohammad shami
11:20considering his experience and the skills that he carries well i think you can't really argue with
11:26the medical team with the med if the medical team says that he's not fit for the tour you can't really
11:31uh you know uh do anything but you're right i think uh a shami and a bumra together with the
11:39mohammad siraj at you know first change i mean that would be a lethal uh new ball attack uh or in
11:45any conditions england england south africa australia condition they would be a lethal uh new ball attack
11:52but like i said if the medical team has given the report then uh you know you can't really you don't
11:58i mean you and i we won't know exactly what the what the fitness situation is so we've just got
12:04to go by what the medical team says another newcomer into the test court size sudarshan
12:09but that i'm sure wouldn't have surprised you considering the form that he's been showing lately
12:14not surprised at all he's been in tremendous form he's a very very good uh young cricketer also i
12:19think somebody who's had the experience of playing country cricket last year so he's had experience of
12:24playing in english conditions it's a very good selection and good luck to the young man i hope
12:29he cements a place for himself for the team so now that we've spoken about a lot of these players
12:35uh let's try and make the 11 uh considering this is the eve of the test match now we know the squad
12:41uh this is the leeds test match you know the 18 member squad that have been picked what would be
12:46sunny gavaskars ideal 11 for that game uh good i'm not really very good at selecting teams uh so
12:57no wonder you never became a selector then yes yeah i mean look i mean as a selector you go to watch
13:02every ball i didn't watch every ball even when i was playing cricket so uh so being a coach and a
13:09selector is certainly would not not my cup of tea but i would imagine that uh you would open the batting with
13:14uh with uh uh jesval and gail rahud this is what my opening pair would be and number three would
13:21be gill and number four karuna number five would be rishabh panth and you know then after that you look
13:27at uh uh including uh yeah nithish kumar ready he's not done the best uh in the ipl but he's a very
13:35very fine trigger he can give you some overs as well he's an outstanding fielder and jadeja and that's
13:43that that would be my team and then i'd pick uh three quicks definitely and uh maybe kuldeep yado as
13:50well okay that's interesting so so two spinners in jadeja kuldeep you've got nitish kumar ready
13:56uh as that fast bowling all-rounder that you have got and then we've seen the
14:00top five batters that you've gone with who would be your three fast bowlers uh it would be uh bumrah
14:06siraj and arsteep bumrah siraj and arsteep wow that's a very well-rounded team it is a team that
14:13uh you know that can definitely compete and that will take me to my next question uh how do you rate
14:20india's chances versus england england uh very good at home and indian teams in the past have also found
14:26it very tough in english conditions this young indian team how do you rate their chances in the five test
14:31match series i i do believe our bowling can win us the games will finish the matches and uh it'll be
14:38tough for the batters at the start certainly at leeds and maybe even at birmingham it won't be easy
14:43but as the summer progresses as the sun comes out a little bit more then i think it'll be a lot better
14:48for our batters as well and a little more hard work for our bowlers but i believe we have the the
14:55all-round strength batting as well as bowling and you know and spin bowling as well so i do believe
15:02that we could we could go on to win this test series okay that's a big statement mr gawaskar does feel
15:08that even though india has a young team going to england they still have a very good chance of winning
15:14that series just one word on how would you want uh you know the stakeholders of indian cricket that
15:20includes the fans as well uh when they go on to judge this team on a tour on a tough tour like that
15:28of england would you uh ask for some sort of patience a longer rope with this young team and a young
15:34captain definitely yes i think nobody is an instant success so you've got to be patient with the team
15:41just like you want to give uh your your youngsters enough opportunities to fail or enough opportunities
15:49to succeed enough opportunities to fail after which you can say look they've played four matches
15:54five matches we don't think that they seem to have it similarly with the captaincy you've got to give
15:58shubhman gil not just one series you've got to give it maybe a whole season of captaining india
16:04and thereafter you know look as to how he's coped up with it last couple of questions uh one how do you
16:13see this new partnership we've spoken about uh shubhman gil the captain uh rishabh panth is vice
16:19captain and you need to have a good partnership between the captain and the vice captain how do
16:23you see this partnership going for indian cricket and i'm not asking about just this store because
16:28it does seem to be a long-term partnership i think they get along very well from from what we've seen
16:35they get along very well so i think they'll uh that'll be a very good combination of uh gil and
16:41pump that will be a very very good combination uh they'll uh rishabh panth behind the stamps will be
16:47a key factor in uh telling uh shubhman gil what the pitch is doing how the batter is coping so and of
16:54course uh with his uh you know cheekiness behind the stumps uh he can get under the batter skins as well so
16:59uh he's going to be a key factor as well as a vice captain and finally say before i let you go this
17:05is of course we're talking about the indian test team but this is also ipl season uh we already know
17:11the top four uh now that you've seen where and how teams are playing and we also know which teams are
17:18going to be missing a few of their overseas players in the in the playoffs which two teams according to you
17:24are going to be playing the final this season my feeling is that it's going to be the two teams
17:31that have not yet won the uh the ipl trophy okay which definitely means it's going to be a punjab
17:41versus rcb final that is what mr gavaskar is hinting at thank you so much for taking our time i know you
17:47have uh commentary duties today uh enjoy the game a crucial game at that uh between punjab and uh
17:55delhi that is going to be played in jaipur and that's exactly the city that mr gavaskar is joining
18:00us live from thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on the indian team as well as uh what
18:06might happen in the ipl that must be music to the ears of uh rcb fans as well as punjab fans because
18:13mr gavaskar feels we're going to get a first time champion now just to sum up what has happened
18:18today 18 member squad has been picked which will be touring england for a five test match series
18:25it starts on the 20th of june with the first test that will be played at leeds and then goes on uh
18:31till the fifth test match that will be played at the oval the big news of course there is shubhman gil
18:37has been made the captain takes over the reins from a rohet sharma the fifth youngest captain
18:42that india has ever had in test match cricket rishabh panth is his vice captain jaspreet boomerah was
18:48also considered for captaincy but because he's not available for the entire duration of the tour at
18:53best he'll play three to four test matches so he's not been made captain but is an essential part
18:58of that touring team they've gone in with six fast bowlers to just sum up that squad uh they've got
19:04three spinners in kuldeep yadav washington sundar ravinder jadeja two wicket keepers in rishabh panth and
19:10droop jurel so that is roughly the team that is looking like and the rest of the members of that
19:16team are all batters okay and uh before we wind up here's a reminder that if you crave for some
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19:44for that live chat i'm afraid that's all the time that we have on this particular broadcast news and
19:49updates continue on the other side on india today