"He should be focused on what is the team's plan": Sachin Tendulkar's advice to Shubman Gill for England tour

New Delhi [India], June 19 (ANI): India's legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar opened up and revealed what the newly appointed Test captain Shubman Gill should keep in mind while leading the visitors in the upcoming England tour.
After batting wizards Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli bid adieu to Test cricket last month, India was left short on experience. With India bereft of its torchbearers, the management turned to youngsters to mark the beginning of a new era. After their decision, the captaincy baton was passed from Rohit to Gill.
Speaking on Shubman Gill's Test captaincy, Sachin Tendulkar told the media, "I think he has to be given time, he has to be supported, and I feel there are going to be a lot of opinions that you know, he should do this and he should do that and all those kind of things will come into play, but what he should be focused on is what is the team's plan, what was the discussion in the dressing room and is it going according to that and all the decisions that are being made are being made in the interest of the team or not is what he should be thinking of and not the outside world where someone feels that he is being too attacking or he is being too defensive and all that, those are opinions and people will give opinions, eventually what happens in the dressing room and what he is doing in the interest of the team is going to matter and that is what should count, nothing else."
At 25, Gill has become one of the youngest players to hold the position in recent years. Though he lacks captaincy experience in the red-ball format, he has led India in a five-match T20I assignment in Zimbabwe in 2024. Gill has also been captaining the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Gill has also served as vice-captain in ODIs and T20Is. He was Rohit Sharma's deputy in India's victorious Champions Trophy campaign in the UAE in February 2025. In Test cricket, Gill has played 32 matches and scored 1,893 runs, including five centuries.
India tour of England will take place from June to August 2025, with matches to be played at Headingley (Leeds), Edgbaston (Birmingham), Lord's (London), Old Trafford (Manchester), and The Oval (London).
A new era beckons for India in the Test format as the modern-day giants gear up for their first assignment without the prized batting bigwigs Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Shubman Gill, India's youngest Test captain, has taken the baton from Rohit to guide the nation to success and challenge for the World Test Championship mace.
India squad for England Test series: 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.
England on Wednesday announced its playing XI for the opening Test of the five-match series against India, which will kick off on June 20 at Headingley.
For the opening Test, England has retained the majority of the XI they fielded against Zimbabwe during the one-off Test last month. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett will open for England, followed by Ollie Pope at number three.
England Playing XI for the 1st Test against India: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (C), Jamie Smith (WK), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir. (ANI)