Shubman Gill has had a terrific start to his leadership reign, scoring a defiant century on Day 1 of India’s first Test against England at Headingley, Leeds, on Friday, June 20. He needed this knock since the Punjab batter’s nomination as captain had been questioned by several analysts and fans, and a poor performance with the bat would have exacerbated his critics’ concerns.

Shubman was named India’s 37th Test captain, succeeding Rohit Sharma, who resigned from the format on May 7. Since then, Shubman’s detractors have made several arguments indicating that the 25-year-old is not the best option for the important post.

Shubman will have little time to settle into his new job as captain, as his first assignment is a five-match Test tour of the United Kingdom, where a formidable England side will aim to get off to a good start in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-2027 cycle.

One of the criticisms centred on Shubman Gill terrible Test average of 35.06 after 32 matches

. The Fazilka native demonstrated promise but was unable to reach his full ability in the red-ball style. Some questioned his status in the team, let alone his captaincy.

Prior to the Headingley Test, Shubman had an average of 25.70 from 11 Tests in SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia). His average from three Tests in England was a woeful 14.67 before to the first at Leeds.

India’s squad is very inexperienced, with stalwarts such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin having recently retired from Test cricket. Mohammed Shami has not been included due to worries about his fitness. However, if the series results do not go in India’s favour, particularly if they lose convincingly, critics may overlook all of this and spare Shubman. As a result, he must score runs while still performing admirably as captain.

While Shubman is mature enough not to get bogged down by outside noise, and his century at Headingley is a testament to that, he will still want to start well in his new role. Critics will also need to understand that a captain needs time to instill his philosophy into his teammates. A home series to start things could have helped him bide his time, but if he survives the trial by fire, he will earn the respect of many of his naysayers.