The biggest pressure going into the England-India Test series will be on Shubman Gill, who has massive shoes to fill. He not only replaces Virat Kohli in the middle-order but will also strike as a phenomenal leader, a void that has been left by Rohit Sharma. Both Kohli and Rohit announced their red-ball retirements (almost) together, meaning a complete traditional shift now will be under Gill.
Rohit + Kohli = Gill?
Fascinatingly, Gill’s stint as the captain of the Gujarat Titans (GT) would’ve definitely helped. He took over the reins from Hardik Pandya when he switched his alliance back to the Mumbai Indians (MI) in 2024. His opening season as a leader wasn’t great, but Gill developed himself into a fantastic captain at IPL 2025. Although GT finished fourth (3rd on the table), Gill gave a great account of his captaincy. As per Jos Buttler, who played the entire season under Gill, his leadership traits are a bit of an amalgamation of both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
“He’s a really impressive player and an impressive young man,” Buttler said while speaking on For the Love of Cricket, his new podcast with Stuart Broad. “He’s pretty calm and measured when he speaks, but [it’s] interesting; I feel like on the field he’s got a bit of fight about him, a bit of intensity, quite passionate. I think he’ll be a mix of Kohli and Rohit.
It would be fair to say that Buttler might not be wrong in his opinion as well. If the IPL 2025 was anything to go by, Gill showed his true self. His captaincy calls came with a sweet plan. He showed Rohit’s calmness under many pressure situations, while Gill was also aggressive. His belligerent character came out in a couple of incidents, including a moment where Gill lost his cool against umpires.
“Kohli [was] that sort of real aggressive [character], really transformed the Indian team, in your face, up for the contest. Rohit [was] a bit on the other side, a bit more laid back, a very cool, calm, and collected customer, but with that sort of fight. I feel like, from my time knowing Shubman so far, he’ll be a bit in the middle. He’s obviously learnt from those two guys… but he’ll be very much his own man,” Buttler continued.
The post Shubman Gill will be a mix of Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma as India captain, says Jos Buttler appeared first on Inside Sport India.