25-Year-Old India Star Called "3rd Or 4th-Most Influential Person Behind PM"

Shubman Gill, at 25, sits in the hot seat of India Test captain. Rarely has such a young man held the position in Indian cricket. His list of predecessors include Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly to name a few. When India's Test series against England starts on Friday, all eyes will be on how Shubman Gill performs. Jos Buttler is Shubman Gill's teammate in IPL team Gujarat Titans, where the Indian star is a skipper too. In a recent podcast with England pace great Stuart Broad gave an idea on how Shubman Gill is as a captain.      

Buttler said the job of captaining India in Test cricket is like being a "third or fourth-most influential people" in the country.  "I don't think we can quite understand the level of interest and the stardom that these guys have. You see it around the IPL, you're aware of it, but actually living that yourself... I think they say the Indian Test captain is like the third or fourth-most influential person in India, behind the Prime Minister, so you really are put up on that pedestal, " he said.

"(There are a) one-and-half billion people, all cricket-mad, so it's going to be a huge job for him. Kohli is the king, Shubman is the prince: that's the narrative that they spin out there, and I feel that he's the coming man...Stepping into that No. 4, it's big shoes, isn't it?

"He (Gill) talked about compartmentalising batting and captaining; so when he's batting he just wants to be a batter, and then he will try and work on his captaincy and try and separate the two roles."

Gill has an enormous task on his hands. India has been left short on experience, especially after batting wizards Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli bid adieu to the Test format last month. With India bereft of its torchbearers, the management turned to youngsters to mark the beginning of a new era.

In his first assignment, India's youngest captain in the red-ball format would need to conjure something special from the players available at his disposal in the five Tests in England, beginning on June 20 at Headingley.

While there are speculations around India's batting order, the rumour mill has suggested that Gill would don the number four role, taking up the mantle of maintaining the legacy that comes along with it, considering Virat and the legendary Sachin Tendulkar previously held the spot.

"It's going to be a huge job for him. He's obviously captained two seasons of IPL cricket, which is a big, pressurised job, and he's sort of the prince. Kolhi is the king, Shubman is the prince: that's the narrative that they spin out there, and I feel that he's the coming man... Stepping into that No. 4, it's big shoes, isn't it? Coming behind Virat and Sachin Tendulkar before that as well. That's obviously a huge role," he added.

With agency inputs 

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