Shubman Gill’s meteoric rise as India’s Test captain continues, with yet another milestone added to his young leadership career. After being appointed skipper ahead of the England tour, the 25-year-old has impressed both with the bat and his tactical acumen — guiding India to a 2-2 draw on English soil despite the absence of stalwarts Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin.
Gill’s leadership graph reached another high on Friday as he won his first-ever toss as India’s Test captain during the second Test against the West Indies at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. Remarkably, this was his seventh attempt, the longest it has taken any Indian captain to win a toss in Test cricket, and the joint-second longest overall, alongside New Zealand’s Tom Latham and behind Bevan Congdon.
The moment sparked laughter and celebration in the Indian camp. Head coach Gautam Gambhir, vice-captain Ravindra Jadeja, and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah were seen sharing hearty smiles and congratulating Gill, who looked visibly delighted.
“The wicket looks good to bat on Day 1. Consistency is the key for us — to be able to repeat performances and play with the same intensity in every match,” Gill said at the toss. “Honestly, not much has changed. I’m still the same person but with a few more responsibilities now.”
India, buoyed by their innings and 140-run win in the first Test, went into the match with an unchanged playing XI. This marks the first time in 15 years that India has played a home Test without Kohli, Rohit, or Ashwin in the lineup.
The selection committee has also shown faith in Gill’s leadership beyond the red-ball format, naming him as ODI captain for the upcoming Australia tour. “I like responsibilities — it’s a very exciting future for me,” he added.
The West Indies, meanwhile, made two changes to their lineup: Anderson Phillip came in for Johann Layne, and Tevin Imlach replaced Brandon King. The Caribbean side faces a daunting challenge, having not beaten India in a Test match — home or away — since 2002, a streak of 26 consecutive matches.
India XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (captain), Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
West Indies XI: Tagenarine Chanderpaul, John Campbell, Alick Athanaze, Tevin Imlach, Shai Hope, Roston Chase (captain), Justin Greaves, Jomel Warrican, Khary Pierre, Anderson Phillip, Jayden Seales.
With his first toss win and a dominant start to his captaincy era, Shubman Gill continues to shape India’s next generation of cricket leadership — blending youthful energy with composed authority on the field.
