If you had any doubts over Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant as skipper and vice-captain for the Indian Test team, there isn’t anything to worry. If former India bowling coach Bharat Arun is to be believed, the future is in safe hands, since he has seen both the players grow over time, and with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma gone, the duo are ready to take the baton.
Shubman Gill “Very Calm & Composed”
Their test will start on June 20, while both were prepping for the leadership roles, during their captaincy stints for GT and LSG in the IPL 2025. So, addressing the question, are Gill and Pant ready, Arun said, “I think so, yes. Shubman Gill, to me, looks very calm and composed,” he told RevSportz.
“Even when he was a youngster, he looked the part. And I thought he has captained quite impressively in the IPL. Not only marshalling the resources, using them judiciously was very key to it. Also, when you look at him in the match, when you look at his body language, he didn’t seem to be highly perturbed when there was a crunch situation. He seemed, at least on the surface of it, he seemed cool. So, I think these are the traits of a very good captain.”
Rishabh Pant “Seemed Pretty Cool”
For Pant, he added that if he imbibes some qualities from his idol MS Dhoni, then that will hold him in good stead. “As far as Rishabh is concerned, his style is different. But also, him staying behind the stumps, even in situations where the bowlers were taken for runs, he seemed pretty cool to me. I think, to Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni is one of his biggest idols.
“And he spent a lot of time with MS. So, I think that experience and that calmness and the coolness which MS Dhoni is known for during matches, Rishabh Pant, even if he imbibes some of those qualities, he will go on to be a good skipper.”
