Sanjay Manjrekar says Shubman Gill has nothing to lose as captain on England tour

Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar believes Shubman Gill has nothing to lose as captain in the five-match Test series against England. Gill was handed over the Test captaincy baton after Rohit Sharma announced his retirement.

The youngster recently led Gujarat Titans to IPL 2025 playoffs and he would look to lead the Test team from the front. Gill would look to get the best out of his players on the England tour.

The 25-year-old will want to deliver with the bat for the team and get the job done for the side. Gill was preferred ahead of Jasprit Bumrah after the fast bowler passed the leadership role due to workload management.

“The advantage that Shubman Gill has, and this team has, it was a bit like the team of the 90s when we went to New Zealand, where Mohammad Azharuddin, out of the blue, was made the captain. You go with the feeling that you have got nothing to lose. The big names have gone, Bumrah was not the captain, it was almost like Gill had to do the job,” Manjrekar said on ESPN Cricinfo.

On the other hand, Manjrekar reckons head coach Gautam Gambhir will enjoy working with a young captain in Shubman Gill. Gambhir has been leading a young T20I team since he has taken over the coaching reins from Rahul Dravid.

“Gautam Gambhir, as coach, will enjoy a young captain with him. Because you see him as a coach when he is with Suryakumar Yadav as the Indian captain, versus, say, a Rohit Sharma. So, he is going to enjoy that job. There is going to be a better kind of relationship between the captain and the coach,” Manjrekar said.

The opening Test match between India and England will be played at Leeds, Headingley, from June 20 onwards.