Buttler feels Gill's captaincy will be mix of Virat, Rohit but will be "very much his own man"

New Delhi [India], June 17 (ANI): Former England white-ball captain Jos Buttler believes Shubman Gill's captaincy will be a blend of his predecessors Virat Kohli's "intensity" and Rohit Sharma's "a bit more laid back" approach. However, despite the mix, Buttler is assured that India's newly crowned Test captain will be "very much his own man," ESPNcricinfo
Buttler played under Gill's captaincy at the Gujarat Titans during the 18th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The duo racked up more than 500 runs each and formed a resilient backbone of Gujarat's batting order during their run to the playoffs.
After having a firsthand experience of Gill in action, leading a side on and off the field, Buttler gave his verdict on what can be expected from India's youngest Test captain, which appears to be quite promising.
"He's a really impressive player and an impressive young man. He's pretty calm and measured when he speaks, but it's interesting, I feel like on the field he's got a bit of fight about him; a bit of intensity, quite passionate. I think he'll be a mix of Kohli and Rohit," Buttler said on the For the Love of Cricket podcast, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
"Kohli [was] that sort of real aggressive [character], really transformed the Indian team, in your face, up for the contest. Rohit was a bit on the other side, a bit more laid back, a very cool, calm, collected customer, but with that sort of fight. I feel like, from my time knowing Shubman so far, he'll be a bit in the middle. He's obviously learned from those two guys... but he'll be very much his own man," he added.
Buttler has spent a considerable amount of time in India, far more than his compatriots. He is aware of the stardom that India's top stars enjoy. He had a simple message for Gill to focus on his batting and not let skipper responsibilities affect it, which happened with him during the final phase of his stint as England's white-ball captain.
"He 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. When you're doing such a big job as being captain of the Indian cricket team, he'll have to try and do that well and have some good people supporting him," he said.
"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, etc. - so you really are put up on that pedestal," he continued.
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.
India Squad: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc, wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudarshan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav. (ANI)