Shubman Gill is fantastic batter, perfect captain: Sourav Ganguly

KOLKATA(West Bengal): Former India captain Sourav Ganguly hailed India’s current Test and ODI skipper Shubman Gill, calling the 26-year-old “a perfect captain”. Ganguly also lauded Gill’s batting and wished him well ahead of the India versus South Africa two-test series, scheduled to begin on Friday.

Speaking at an event Ganguly lauded Gill’s leadership during India’s tour of England, noting the challenge of captaining at a young age in such conditions. Ganguly wished him continued success, highlighting Gill as an outstanding all-format player.

“Shubman Gill is a fantastic batter and a perfect captain. He captained India remarkably in England. As a young boy, going to England and captaining in England is not easy. He is a perfect captain and will continue to do well for India as a captain. My good wishes to him. Gill is an all-format player and a fantastic player. I wish him all the best,” Ganguly said.

In his debut series as Test captain, Gill led India to a 2-2 draw against a full-strength England side. The 26-year-old scored 754 runs across five Tests in England, including four centuries, the most by any batter in a Test series between India and England. He also surpassed Sunil Gavaskar’s record of 732 runs, setting a new benchmark for the most runs scored by an Indian captain in a Test series, previously achieved against the West Indies in 1978-79.

After the England Tests, Gill tasted his first series win as the skipper as India clean-swept West Indies at home by 2-0, where he also scored a century.

Under Gill’s leadership, India have had a strong start to their World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle, having won four out of the seven Test matches that they have played, having lost two and drawn one test. India are positioned third in the WTC 2025-27 points table with a decent PCT of 61.90, with only Australia and Sri Lanka leading them.

India will resume their World Test Championship campaign against South Africa from November 14, with the first Test of the two-match series set to be played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. South Africa, champions of the previous WTC cycle, enter the series following a 1-1 draw in their recent series against Pakistan. (ANI)