"Wouldn’t be giving you any tips" - Shubman Gill does a Rohit Sharma at press conference ahead of ENG vs IND 2025 Test series

Team India's new Test captain Shubman Gill had his 'Rohit Sharma' moment at the press conference held on the eve of the Headingley Test against England on Thursday, June 19. He came up with a quirky response to a query around receiving captaincy tips from his predecessors.

Rohit is famous for his one-liners while addressing press conferences. Irrespective of the situation or result of the match, there has rarely been a media interaction in recent times which the Hitman has not cracked a witty joke.

At a pre-series press conference on Thursday, Gill was asked to share a captaincy tip he received from either Rohit or Kohli. The Indian batter cheekily replied:

"Wouldn’t be giving you any tips one day before the match."

On a serious note, the new Indian Test captain revealed that he had discussions with both Rohit and Kohli during IPL 2025. Gill stated that both of them shared inputs from their own experiences about the challenges he is likely to face in England. The young Indian batter elaborated:

'I met both of them in the IPL. They told me about their experienced especially here in England and some of the challenges that we might face here."

The Indian captain added that the side will take a lot of confidence from their 4-1 series win over England at home last year. He asserted that the visitors would look to play a similar brand of cricket in the upcoming series. Gill said:

"The Test series that we played against England in India was one of the best series that I have been part of. Even in that series, not many of our senior players were available in every match. The series scorecard was 4-1, but the number doesn’t justify how tough that series was for us. If we are able to replicate that [how we played], that would be the key for us."

India lost the first Test of the home series against England in early 2024, but made a brilliant comeback to win the next four matches and seal an emphatic victory.

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"Want to be the best batter in the series" - Shubman Gill

In the past, a number of bright cricketers have faltered because of their inability to balance batting and leadership. Asked how he would tackle the challenge, Gill replied that he wouldn't think about captaincy while batting. He elaborated:

"Honestly, when I want to go out there and bat, I just want to play as a batsman and not think that I am the captain because that sometimes puts too much pressure on you. I want to dominate the opposition and be the best batter in the series."

While he has been appointed Test captain, Gill is yet to prove his credentials as batter in the format. Having played 32 matches, he is averaging in the mid-30s. In away Tests, his average falls to 29.50.