Gill has improved greatly as captain: GT coach Nehra

Like several far-reaching decisions in Indian cricket successfully tried out first in the Indian Premier League (IPL), such as appointing Rohit Sharma captain, the emergence of Jasprit Bumrah as a world beater and Suryakumar Yadav the T20 batting marauder – the national selectors would hope Shubman Gill's ascent to Test captaincy will also come good.

- Rasesh Mandani

MUMBAI:

Gill will become the fifth youngest Indian captain – counting Ravi Shastri's solitary Test – when he walks out for the toss at Leeds on Friday in the first of the five-Test India-England series to be broadcast on Sony Sports Network.

Gill cut his teeth as captain for Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL. "From his first year as captain, there has been a massive difference in Shubman the captain in the past twelve months," Ashish Nehra, GT head coach, told a select group of media of which HT was a part. "He might have been a little shy and introverted before, but he has improved a lot. He communicates better with his bowlers. In between, he has also gained international experience."