The Gill guide to leadership

ACINIG THE TEST

- Kunal Pradhan

Shubman Gill was stranded, rather calmly, for about 10 minutes and nearly three overs, on 199 during the second Test against England at Edgbaston.

A cricketing journey that began in Fazilka, Punjab (where he was born), traversed Mohali (where he was raised) and Ahmedabad (where he leads the Gujarat Titans IPL team), and made him India’s Test captain just weeks ago, was on the cusp of a glorious milestone.

In the days leading up to the match, Gill, 25, was offered harsh lessons in leadership by pundits of every hue: on team selection, on the balance between defence and offence, on how to rotate bowlers. But Gill was in a different mood; instead of being schooled, he wanted to dole out a key leadership lesson of his own.

So when he got his turn at the crease after the longish wait, he fought off all temptation for theatrics. A single swatted to fine leg, measured and easy, was all he needed in order to raise a maiden double-hundred.

Then a different chase began. One that would evoke Sunil Gavaskar’s floppy hat, Vinoo Mankad’s horizontal bat, Rahul Dravid’s body blows, Sachin Tendulkar’s straight drive, Virender Sehwag's hand-eye coordination, VVS Laxman’s radiant flick, and Virat Kohli’s perfectly measured singles.