00:00Guys, we have with us Captain Subban Gil. As usual, we take one question at a time. Please raise your hands before you ask a question. If you wish to ask a follow-up question, we'll come back. We'll take questions from this side first, and then we'll go ahead.
00:13Yes, sir.
00:15Firstly, congratulations on your coronation moment. Has it dawned on you the enormity of the occasion that you're a red ball captain of India since you're under 19 days? We've all been talking about you're destined for this job.
00:27Finally, you're there. The pinnacle, the moment, the format that matters to all of us. Has it dawned on you?
00:34Yes, definitely. I think it is the biggest honor that a player can get. Captaining your country, especially in test cricket, is something that not many people have the opportunity, and I think I'm very excited for this opportunity.
00:51Hi, Subban. Congratulations. Can you talk to us about the number four, you know, discussions, what went, because you opened the innings for India in test cricket, then number three also, and then now number four, and is there any surety on who will be at number three?
01:03We actually were waiting. The summer has been a little bit different to the other English summers, and it's been a little bit dry, so I was just waiting to see the wicket one last time to see the final combinations and deciding on that.
01:17There was, I mean, after Virat Bhai retired, me and Gigi Bhai had a discussion about it, and we were both clear that he wanted me to bat at number four, and I was also clear that I also wanted to bat at that number.
01:34In Australia, we saw the team was a little confused in their philosophy of how to take 20 wickets.
01:42They were maybe worried about the batting depth and played a batting all-rounder instead of a bowler.
01:48What is your philosophy about, you know, how do you want to go about taking 20 wickets as cheaply as possible?
01:54Are you prepared to even play four tail-enders if it is required to get 20 wickets first?
02:01Yes, definitely. I think in test matches, if you want to win a test match, you can't win a test match without taking 20 wickets, no matter how many runs you score.
02:08So that has been one of our key discussion points, you know, how are we going to take 20 wickets, and there might be a case where we would only be going with six pure batters,
02:19and you would see a bowling all-rounder and three to four premier fast bowlers or proper bowlers.
02:26Have you chosen a team? Can you tell us what it is?
02:29Sorry?
02:30Have you chosen a team?
02:31We have maybe one or two different combinations. I was just waiting, like I said, to come out today and see the wicket for the one last time and see how it's going to pan out for the next five days.
02:42Any more questions from this question?
02:43Yes.
02:44Subhan, of course, Rishab talked about your camaraderie and how this young group of boys are gelling.
02:49So how important is it? Did you set a new benchmark for this team, new environment for this team?
02:56What are your ideas going forward? I asked a few questions to Rishab as well, and he was very clear about what he wanted to do.
03:02What is your vision?
03:03Me and Rishab, we have played a lot of cricket together, and our mindset and our thinking is sort of aligned, and our vision is sort of aligned.
03:13We want to create an environment in the team where everyone feels secure, and I think, I personally believe that everyone's best performances come when they're feeling the most secure,
03:23and they're feeling validated and secure, and that's the kind of environment that we want to create in the team.
03:29Captain, may I ask you, if you imagine winning five test series in England, and imagine winning the IPL, which one seems more magnificent to you?
03:40Definitely the test series, in my opinion. You know, you don't get many opportunities as a captain to be able to come to England.
03:50Maybe 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.
04:05So, in my opinion, winning a test series in England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa are bigger.
04:11What sort of style of play will we see under your captaincy from India? Are you inspired at all by what Bazbol has done for England in the last few years?
04:23I think you're going to have to wait till August to see what kind of style is that going to be.
04:28Captain, first of all, I want you to work for becoming the Indian Test.
04:37Captain, tell me that according to this team, it's a young team, there's a lot of experience, there's a lot of experience, there's a lot of experience.
04:45What is your vision for Indian cricket? What kind of Indian cricket, especially for the test cricket, what are your thoughts on?
04:54Sir, what we've met with our seniors in the last five or ten years, that we can win anywhere anywhere.
05:02And we need to follow our confidence and our own blueprint.
05:09And I've said that if your environment is very good, players feel very well and confident,
05:17And we know what our role is, our role is,
05:21And that's an environment we have to create in our team.
05:24Shubman, have you spoken to Virat or Rohit at all about how you want to go, or any tips
05:42from them about how to go about the captaincy?
05:44Yes, of course I did, and I met both of them in the IPL, and they told me about their experiences,
05:53especially here in England, and some of the challenges that we might face here in England.
06:00But having said that, I think the test series actually that we played against England and
06:04India was one of the best series that I have been part of, and even in the test series,
06:11not many of our senior players were available in every match, and how we went about that
06:18series was the way that I think the series is also going to be.
06:24I mean, if you look at the series scorecard, I think it was about 4-1, but the number wasn't
06:31really justified how tough that series was for us.
06:34And if you are able to replicate that, I think that would be the key for us.
06:37Was there one tip that they had to say that you will take away from the conversations you
06:42had?
06:43I mean, I wouldn't be telling you any tips one day before the match.
06:48Hi, captain.
06:49Congratulations on your captaincy.
06:51Just wanted to know that England these days, for the last few years, they have been playing
06:55a certain brand of cricket, high-risk, high-gain.
06:58And often it backfires also, because they also give some opportunity to the opponent team
07:02as well by playing that way.
07:04So how are you looking at this, you know, to counter this approach as an opponent captain,
07:09and your thoughts on this exciting series?
07:12Yeah, I mean, they have been playing very exciting brand of cricket.
07:16They have been wanting to get results, you know, I think that's what the approach has been.
07:23From what we know when we played against them in India, or especially here, they have been
07:32wanting to get results.
07:33And as a team, whenever you are playing, you want to be able to get results out of any match,
07:39and I think that's what they're trying to get.
07:42And I think it wouldn't be any different from us as well.
07:44And we also play to get results, and it will be a very exciting series.
07:49Shuman, you're talking about having a very secure environment.
07:53Is it about giving a longer rope for some of the younger batters, or is it about having
07:58more empathy on the leadership front?
08:01Could you just…
08:02Sir, I think it's about clear communication, what you want from them, and trying to assign
08:10roles how, you know, they would want to go about their things.
08:13Having the confidence to be able to back them with their natural game, how they want to
08:18play this game.
08:20And yes, definitely there would be some place that you tend to give more rope to them, just
08:26because of the pure potential that you see in them.
08:30But having said that, I think, like I said, it's all about giving them clear communication
08:36and having honest conversations with them.
08:39And that's how I feel the bond of a leader or between a player is the best.
08:46India hasn't played test cricket for quite a while now.
08:52But the most recent memory of this was not great, both at home against New Zealand and
08:58then Australia.
08:59So will that weigh the team down, or how are you looking at it, inspiration, motivation or
09:04mistakes to be corrected?
09:06How are you looking at results of those influencing or motivating you more?
09:12I don't think we'd be looking at that, to be honest.
09:15We all are very motivated.
09:18I mean, that's also a lot of people talk about, you know, like our side is not experienced,
09:23but there are also positives that we don't really have any baggage coming to England because
09:28not all of the players have really been to England.
09:30So that could be one thing that really makes the difference for us because we wouldn't
09:35be carrying any baggage.
09:37Do you expect the opposition to challenge you and target you a bit more now you're captain?
09:44And if so, are you the kind of character that relishes that prospect?
09:47I mean, whenever I'm playing, I always think the opposition is trying to challenge me and
09:53I mean, all the players, you know, that they think are key.
09:56So I don't think it's going to be any different Shuman, a lot is being spoken about your captaincy,
10:02you becoming the captain, but what is Shuman Gill, the batsman thinking before this five
10:06tests series gets underway?
10:08How have your preparations been like?
10:10Because you are clearly obsessed with your batting, you were batting with the Duke's Wall
10:13in the IPL as well.
10:14So what is, how are you approaching this series as a batter, anything different you are planning
10:19and are you able to segment both batting and captaincy as yet?
10:23Honestly, when I want to go out there and bat, I just want to play as a batsman, not really
10:28want to think that I'm the captain of the team because I think that sometimes put too
10:33much pressure on you.
10:35Whenever I'm going out there, I want to play as a batsman and want to dominate the opposition
10:40and be the best batsman in the series and that's what I'm trying to look at.
10:45Shuman Nidhar, I think it's necessary to take 20 wickets in the time, but if you talk about
10:52this series, then play in England, deep batting, long-term batting, especially in the first
10:58test match, how much will it be in the first inning in the first inning?
11:01Sir, every test match in the first inning is very important.
11:08And how you start any test series is also very important because the first test match is
11:16possible to set the tone of the whole test series.
11:20So, if we talk about our batsmen in general, even Australia, we were on top, but we couldn't
11:31fully grab that situation.
11:32We couldn't take that situation.
11:33We couldn't take it.
11:34And I think this is one thing that if we feel that we are on top of the other team, then
11:41how can we become ruthless?
11:43How can we grab that opportunity?
11:45And this is our goal.
11:52Shuman, thoughts on yesterday's practice.
11:58Most of the bowlers, the base bowlers, the tail enders had the batting sessions.
12:03So, any thoughts being made to get the tail enders used to scoring 10-20 more runs?
12:10Yes, all contributions are highly appreciated, especially the lower order.
12:14I think the amount of frustration the fielding team gets when the tail enders goes runs is,
12:20it kind of carries on when they sometimes bat as well.
12:23So, any contribution from the lower order is highly appreciated in this team.
