"Greatest cricketing brain in the world" - Yograj Singh credits son Yuvraj for Shubman Gill's rise to Test captaincy ahead of ENG vs IND Tests 2025

Former India cricketer Yograj Singh has said that his son, Yuvraj Singh, has played a massive role in Shubman Gill's ascendancy to the Test captaincy role. The ace batter was named as Rohit Sharma's successor ahead of the crucial England tour as part of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle.

Yuvraj Singh has been mentoring Shubman Gill since his early days, given that he plays for Punjab, the same domestic side from which the former World Cup-winning all-rounder made his breakthrough. He has been quite vocal about Gill's performances across formats on social media, while also assisting with his game, both the technical and mental aspects.

Yograj Singh stated that all of that guidance has helped Shubman Gill reach this level, and it will assist him going forward as well.

"The credit for Shubman Gill's performance goes to his father and Yuvraj Singh. If Shubman Gill has become the captain today and will stay for a long time, Yuvraj Singh's guidance will play and has played an essential role in that. Someone like Yuvraj Singh, the greatest cricketing brain in the world, taking Gill under his wing is a big thing," Yograj Singh told ANI.

Shubman Gill leads an 18-man outfit for the England tour with Rishabh Pant as his deputy. The ace batter has a massive responsibility on his shoulders the form of spearheading the transition in the aftermath of Ravichandran Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli's retirements from the longest format.

“I get nervous when Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill are batting" - Yuvraj Singh on his mentees

Yuvraj Singh has played a massive role in mentoring youngsters like Shubman Gill since his retirement from cricket. The former all-rounder admitted that he feels nervous while watching his students play.

I get nervous when Abhishek and Shubman are batting," Yuvraj Singh had said on the Curly Tales YouTube channel.

"A lot of people are scared of him like Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma. After their games are over, in the evening, he will call them and be like 'what shot did you play?. They get petrified of him,” Yuvraj Singh's mother, Shabnam, added in the same interview.

Shubman Gill is set to lead India in Tests for the first time during the series opener against England at Headingley, Leeds on June 20. The right-handed batter is currently leading the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 while enjoying a prolific season with the bat as well.