The Ahmedabad Test will be Shubman Gill’s first home Test as India’s captain. But that won’t be all. It’ll have much more significance. When Team India takes the field on October 2 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, it’ll be the first time in 14 years that they’ll play a home Test match without Ravichandran Ashwin, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma.
These three stalwarts carried the Indian team at home for over a decade. Ashwin made his Test debut on November 6 and lost just two series at home. Kohli had made his Test debut in June 2011, but played his first home Test after Ashwin. Meanwhile, Rohit made his Test debut exactly 2 years after Ashwin did.
This trio would make an unbreakable bond. And fascinatingly, the first home series India lost after 12 years would be their last. The decline was upon them, more so in Kohli’s case than the other two, but they decided it was time to bid adieu and played their last Test series together in Australia.
Test legacy in India
Numbers are the best way to describe what they did. Ashwin was the most important player for India in home Test matches. These are some of his achievements:
- Didn’t miss a home Test since his debut. No one has got more wickets or 5-wicket hauls than Ashwin. In the history of Test cricket, only Daniel Vettori scored more runs (2227 to 2006) or hundreds (4 each) at number 8 than Ashwin.
Let’s come to Kohli now.
- Since his debut, no one has scored more runs than him. Ends as the 5th highest run-scorer in Test cricket. Only 3 batters have more hundreds than him. The captain with the most Test wins at home. Won 24 of 31 matches from 2015 to 2021.
And lastly, Rohit.
- Joint second-highest run-getter since his debut. 3rd most runs since his debut. Joint 6th in most hundreds in India.
| Span | Matches | Stats | Win-Loss-Draw | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ravichandran Ashwin | 2011-2024 | 65 | 383 wickets at 21.57 29 five-wicket hauls | 47-9-9 |
| Virat Kohli | 2011-2024 | 55 | 4336 runs at 55.58 14 hundreds | 39-8-8 |
| Rohit Sharma | 2013-2024 | 34 | 2535 runs at 51.73 10 hundreds | 26-6-2 |
The Shubman Gill era begins
Losing India’s best Test opener since Virender Sehwag, one of the greatest Test batters in Kohli and a genuine all-rounder/arguably the greatest spinner at home won’t be easy. Gill, together with Gautam Gambhir, has his task cut out for him.
Luckily, he’s got two relatively easy test matches to commence his own era. Labelled as the ‘next superstar’ of Indian cricket, Gill has a lot to prove. Any failure with the bat or captaincy will lead to direct comparison with his predecessors in Rohit and Kohli. These are big names to live up to.
To begin with, Gill has to weather the West Indian storm. Playing without these modern greats won’t be easy. For years, they stood up when it mattered the most. We were leaders of the side. Knew how to handle the biggest of moments and toughest of oppositions. Gill won’t have any of them by their side. It won’t be easy, but this is the chance for Gill to make his legacy, just like they did.
