“Either you will drown or you will become a world-class swimmer” - Gautam Gambhir spills beans in his first conversation with Shubman Gill

Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir has revealed his first-ever conversation with the Indian Test captain Shubman Gill after he took up the captaincy reins ahead of the Anderson Tendulkar Trophy in England.

After the retirements of the Indian veteran duo, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, from the longest format of the game, the Ajit Agarkar-led Indian selection committee appointed Gill as the new Test captain for the England tour.

Speaking exclusively on Star Sports, Gambhir disclosed his first-ever conversation with Gill after the latter became the new Test captain. He also heaped praise on Gill for exceeding the expectations on his first tour as a captain.

"I remember that entire conversation. I told him one thing very clearly: 'We have thrown you into a deep sea, and there are only two paths from here. Either you will drown or you will become a world-class swimmer'," Gambhir said on Star Sports.

"For me, those 750 runs don't matter. If Shubman hadn't made those 750 runs on the England tour, he would have made them on the next tour. Because of his quality. For me, the way a 25-year-old kid, with a young team, handled himself, his captaincy, handled the team, handled the pressure, against a quality England side (is what matters). I don't think there is a test more difficult than that in captaincy," he observed.

For the unversed, Gill went on to accumulate 754 runs from 10 innings on the England tour, emerging as the leading run-scorer of the five-match Test series. Also, he led the Indian team to a series-levelling 2-2 scoreline after a close six-run win in the fifth and final Test at The Oval.

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