Shubman has earned right to be India skipper, passed toughest test in England: Gambhir
New Delhi (PTI): Shubman Gill has "already passed his toughest test as captain in England", asserted India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday as he lauded the young leader for earning the dressing room's respect by "saying and doing the right things".
As he turned 44 on Tuesday, Gambhir had more than one reason to celebrate with India completing a Test series sweep over the West Indies, which was also Gill's first series triumph as captain.
Asked how is he managing the 26-year-old, who was also recently handed ODI captaincy and will start in the role with an away series against Australia from Sunday, Gambhir was prompt with his response.
"(By) just allowing him to be himself. I think no one has done him a favour by appointing him the Test captain or (the) one-day captain. I think he deserves every bit of it," Gambhir said.
"I think he's worked hard. He has already passed his toughest test as captain -- that was in England, five Tests away from home in tough conditions against a quality team," he added, referring to the rubber that 2-2 and in which every match was fought intensely, lasting the whole five days.
Leading in such an high-pressure assignment that lasted well over two months, it couldn't have got tougher for Gill, Gambhir asserted.
"I know it's tough for him...and I've said it many times, that England was probably the toughest Test for him. Five Test matches over the course of two, two and a half months, against a quality England side. What more could he have faced?" he asked.
"Sometimes we only keep talking about the captain, but the way the team has responded to him and to his leadership is equally important," Gambhir said.
Gill led by example with 754 runs during the tour of England and Gambhir said despite his relatively young age, the star batter is clear in communication.
"You've got to give credit to the entire group in that dressing room. You do earn respect by scoring runs, but you also earn respect by saying the right things, and doing the right things.
"I think your actions should be more than any other thing, not just the performances. He's done phenomenally well, and so has the group," he said.
On to India's overall prospects in the ongoing World Test Championship cycle, Gambhir said he doesn't want to fret over whether the team will play the 2027 World Test Championship final just yet.
"For me, I am not looking ahead at what is going to happen in the World Test Championship final in 2027. That is still a long, long way away.
"I think, staying in the present is very important. It was important for us to win this series at home. More importantly, I think we have got a very busy schedule. Hopefully, we can keep continuing from here."
On a lighter note, would he consider having a mental conditioning coach or trainer to support Gill, who is being seen as an all-format captain going forward?
The usually straight-faced Gambhir cracked up for once.
"First and foremost, I need one," he quipped.
"When the team wins, everyone is in a good space but when it doesn't win, I need to keep them in a good space," he added.
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Prasidh, Kuldeep limit South Africa to 270 after De Kock's hundred
Visakhapatnam (PTI): India fought back gallantly through Prasidh Krishna and Kuldeep Yadav after Quinton de Kock struck his 23rd hundred, keeping South Africa to a manageable 270 in the third and series-deciding final ODI, here Saturday.
India won the toss after judging the spin of the coin incorrectly 20 times in a row. They had little hesitation in inserting the Proteas into bat, a clear indication of dew factor dominating the thought.
After Arshdeep Singh sent back Ryan Rickelton early, De Kock (106, 89b, 8x4, 6x4) struck his seventh century against India and put on 113 runs off 124 balls with skipper Temba Bavuma (48, 67b) as the visitors moved to a healthy position.
De Kock was severe on Prasidh (4/66), who erred on length continuously in his first spell (2-0-27-0). The left-hander biffed the pacer for 6, 6, 4 in his second over to milk 18 runs.
The 32-year-old quickly pounced on anything that was short, and pacers Prasidh and Harshit offered him plenty of feed on his pet areas.
Bavuma was more sedate, and made runs through those typical dabs and jabs, occasionally unfurling a drive of elan.
De Kock moved to fifty in 42 balls, and never let the tempo down reaching his hundred in 79 balls.
India found temporary relief when Ravindra Jadeja induced a false slash from Bavuma to get caught by Virat Kohli at point.
The tourists got another move on through a 54-run partnership between De Kock and Matthew Breetzkle for the third wicket, and at 168 for two in 28 overs they were in a good position to press on.
But Breetzke's punishment of part-time spinner Tilak Varma forced a rethink in the Indian camp, as skipper KL Rahul brought back Prasidh for a second spell.
What a masterstroke it turned out to be! The Karnataka man broke the back of South Africa’s top and middle order in an exceptional second spell (4-0-11-3).
Breetzke was the first man to go, trapped plumb in front with a straight one and four balls later Aiden Markram uppishly chipped a fuller delivery to Kohli at short covers.
Prasidh soon castled De Kock, whose ugly cross-batted swipe failed to connect a full length delivery from the pacer.
All of a sudden, SA found themselves at a shaky 199 for five, losing three wickets in the space of three overs.
Once Prasidh was done away with the top and middle-order, left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep (4/41) took over and mopped up the tail as SA fell short of even a par total on this track.
