logo
Shubman Gill is a world-class batter, he is bound to lead India successfully, says Vijayan Bala

Shubman Gill is a world-class batter, he is bound to lead India successfully, says Vijayan Bala

Hans India2 days ago
New Delhi: Ahead of the second Test against England in Edgbaston, veteran sports author Vijayan Bala backed visiting captain Shubman Gill to come out as a successful leader for the country if he is given the correct support needed.
Gill's first Test as captain had a mixed result in Leeds. The 25-year-old amassed his highest Test score of 147 during India's first innings but the team lost the match by five wickets to go 0-1 down in the five-match series.
After the Test retirements of batting stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma last month, Gill was appointed as India's Test skipper with wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant as his deputy.
"People are very worried. They keep on talking about no Virat Kohli, no Rohit Sharma, no Ashwin. See, everyone has his day and they have retired. So we now must look at the new generation. We've had great players retiring in the past, but the cricket did not end with them. New stars came up. Shubman Gill is a world-class batsman. And he has been a leader and if given proper support and encouragement, he is bound to lead India successfully," Bala told IANS on Tuesday.
"The only thing about him is he needs to make decisions on his own and without any worry about anything. That I suppose will come in time to come. And one thing we must not forget that India has tremendous talent. And there is no dearth of talent in any part of cricket. Whether it's batting, bowling, fast bowling, spin bowling, all types. At all levels, we have very, very talented cricketers. We should not judge him by whatever happens in England. We should give him more time and I'm certain in time to come this new era will prove as good if not better than the earlier eras," he added.
Bala, who has authored seven books including six on sports, particularly cricket and the Olympics, aptly detailed what the country should do to increase the medal count in the quadrennial sporting spectacle.
"The main reason for India not winning as many medals as they should in the Olympics is the absence of a sports culture. And unless this sports culture comes about in a serious manner, it will be very difficult for India to win the number of medals which the top leading countries win. And the only way we can do this is to start from the grassroots level. All schools, in fact, the CBSE and the other boards should insist that all schools that are affiliated to them must have playgrounds, proper coaches, and committed physical education teachers. Only then will we have better sportspersons at the young level.
"In addition to that, we need to have dedicated sports teachers who will, first of all, spot talent. Talent and sports of different games. And then they will train the talent. Of course, the schools need to have coaches who can train the talent. And once they are trained, these children should get exposure at the state level.
"And then the process follows. The university level, college level and then the state level. And then the top people notice till they come up to the national level. So this is a continuous process and it has to be monitored very carefully. Then we will have a proper sports culture and our country will win many more medals than what they are doing right now," he said.
Talking about his first book - 'Indian Test Cricket - A Statistical Digest 1932-1974' - which he wrote at the age of 23, Bala said it was his love for the game that motivated him to start his journey as a sports author.
"I had a passion for cricket statistics from the age of almost eight. Difficult to believe, but from the age of eight I loved cricket statistics. It was like music to my ears. So, later on, I kept on collecting statistics and other things. At the age of 23, I was selected by the BCCI to be their east zone representative in their statistical committee.
"And soon after that, it struck me that there was no proper book on Indian Test cricket statistics. So, I got down to the task and I worked on it and brought the book out."
Bala, who has taught English and was greatly involved in co-curricular and sports activities for over four decades at reputed schools across the country, reflected on his recent two books - India's Olympic Medal Winners (Paris 1900 - Paris 2024) and History and Stars of the World's Greatest Sporting Event: From Athens 1896 to Paris 2024 - which extensively talks about many sports legends.
"The last two books which I brought out were both on the Olympics. They came out about a month or two after the Olympic games. The first book was on the Indian side of it. It covers, for example, all India's Olympic medal winners, starting from Norman Pritchard in 1900 Paris and ending in 2024 Paris. All our medal winners are covered. And there are plenty of interviews of nearly all the medal winners. Plus, you have reports, you have write-ups, you have interviews, you have statistics and pictures. That is the book. It's very complete. Photographs are there of all the teams that participated in hockey plus the individual pictures.
"And then the other book is on the modern summer Olympics from 1896 to 2024. And that particular book covers, in fact, all the modern summer Olympic games. And it has write-ups on each of the summer Olympic games plus 82 outstanding sportspersons from the games have been highlighted and featured. Write-ups on them plus their Olympic records and the book is full of pictures, coloured and black and white," he explained.
Asked about his upcoming book, Bala wants to write about the broadcasting side of sports after being personally involved in it for nearly 50 years.
"The next book is a topic on which I have been associated with but not written and that is broadcasting. I've been in sports broadcasting almost for the last, well, you can say 48 years. I've been in sports broadcasting. And I have, in fact, 2 years back you'll be happy to know I covered 12 days, 24 hockey matches alone in Hyderabad. So that way I would love to write about Indian sports broadcasting. There are problems associated with it and there are good points.
"But then these points should be highlighted so that we get better quality broadcasters in the future. But this is the book I'm intending to write. I hope I do, I am able to write it so for the benefit of those who wish to become better broadcasters.
"Being out is basically in God's hands, right? I am thinking over it, I'm planning it. So it's still in the planning stage but hopefully in about 3-4 months' time, it should be out," he concluded.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Shubman Gill's Roaring Celebration After 1st Test Double Ton Viral. Goes On To Surpass Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid. Watch
Shubman Gill's Roaring Celebration After 1st Test Double Ton Viral. Goes On To Surpass Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid. Watch

NDTV

time18 minutes ago

  • NDTV

Shubman Gill's Roaring Celebration After 1st Test Double Ton Viral. Goes On To Surpass Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid. Watch

Shubman Gill became the first Indian and Asian captain to score a double hundred in a Test match in England when he reached the milestone on the second day of the second match at Edgbaston on Thursday. The previous best was 193 by Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan at Lord's in 2011. The skipper also posted the highest individual score by an Indian batter on English soil, surpassing Sunil Gavaskar 's 221 scored at the Oval back in 1979. In 2002, Dravid came close at the same ground but was dimissed on 217. Gill, who scored 147 on his debut as Test captain at Leeds, completed his maiden double hundred in the traditional format when he pulled Josh Tongue towards deep fine leg for a single. He then followed it with a special celebration. . @ShubmanGill rewrites the record books in England! First Asian captain to score a double century in SENA First visiting captain to score 200 in England since 2003 Only the third Indian to score a double century in England! #ENGvIND 2nd TEST, Day 2 | LIVE NOW… — Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 3, 2025 He took 311 deliveries to reach his double hundred which earned him a place alongside MAK Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni as captains with double hundreds for India. Virat Kohli holds the record with seven double centuries as skipper for India. Before Gill, the highest score by an Indian skipper in a SENA country was 192 by Mohammed Azharuddin against New Zealand in Auckland back in 1990. Azharuddin's 179 in Manchester in 1990 was the highest score by an Indian skipper in England. En route his double ton, Gill smashed 21 fours and two sixes and became the third Indian batter to score a double ton in Old Blighty after legendary pair of Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid.

Shubman Gill becomes first Asian Test skipper to score double hundred in England; pips Gavaskar's 221
Shubman Gill becomes first Asian Test skipper to score double hundred in England; pips Gavaskar's 221

New Indian Express

time20 minutes ago

  • New Indian Express

Shubman Gill becomes first Asian Test skipper to score double hundred in England; pips Gavaskar's 221

BIRMINGHAM: Shubman Gill became the first Indian and Asian captain to score a double hundred in a Test match in England when he reached the milestone on the second day of the second match at Edgbaston on Thursday. The skipper also posted the highest individual score by an Indian batter on English soil, surpassing Sunil Gavaskar's 221 scored at the Oval back in 1979. The previous best was 193 by Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan at Lord's in 2011. Gill, who scored 147 on his debut as Test captain at Leeds, completed his maiden double hundred in the traditional format when he pulled Josh Tongue towards deep fine leg for a single. He took 311 deliveries to reach his double hundred which earned him a place alongside MAK Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni as captains with double hundreds for India. Virat Kohli holds the record with seven double centuries as skipper for India. Before Gill, the highest score by an Indian skipper in a SENA country was 192 by Mohammed Azharuddin against New Zealand in Auckland back in 1990. Azharuddin's 179 in Manchester in 1990 was the highest score by an Indian skipper in England. En route his double ton, Gill smashed 21 fours and two sixes and became the third Indian batter to score a double ton in Old Blighty after legendary pair of Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid.

Shubman Gill distracted by Harry Brook's 'how many triple centuries' mind game; captain pays the price instantly
Shubman Gill distracted by Harry Brook's 'how many triple centuries' mind game; captain pays the price instantly

Hindustan Times

time25 minutes ago

  • Hindustan Times

Shubman Gill distracted by Harry Brook's 'how many triple centuries' mind game; captain pays the price instantly

After becoming the first Asian captain to score a double century in England and the first Indian batter to score 250 outside Asia, Shubman Gill looked destined for a historic triple century. Standing as the lone warrior for India on Day 2 of the second Test in Birmingham, Gill was just 31 runs shy of becoming the first visiting captain in England in 61 years to score a triple century and only the second in history after Bill Simpson of Australia at Old Trafford in 1964. However, a lapse of concentration following Harry Brook's mind game, denied Gill that milestone. Shubman Gill was dismissed for 269 at Edgbaston In the second over after Lunch, as Shoaib Bashir was in action against Gill, Brook, who was stationed at slip, was seen engaging with Gill in a banter, as he tried to get inside the Indian skipper's mind with a 'triple century' remark. While the stump mic missed the exact words from Brook, Gill was seen responding to the England star on two occasions during the over. Former England captain Mike Atherton, who was in the commentary box, clarified that Brook said, "290s is the hardest" before asking the India captain, "How many triple centuries have you got?" Atherton quickly reminded that Brook did get to the triple-century mark during the Multan Test against Pakistan in 2024. On the other hand, Gill was looking for his maiden score of 300 in first-class cricket, with his previous best being 268 against Tamil Nadu in Mohali during the 2018/19 season. The banter worked perfectly for England as Gill departed on the third ball of the next over. Josh Tongue dished out a short ball as an exhausted Gill went for the pull shot, but ended up dragging it off the inside edge, straight to Ollie Pope at square leg. Gill helps India bounce back Gill departed for 269, which is the highest score by an Asian captain in England and the third highest overall after Simpson's 311 and Graeme Smith's 277 at the same venue in 2003. It was also the third-best individual score by an Indian batter away from home after Virender Sehwag's 309 in Multan in 2004 and Rahul Dravid's 270, also against Pakistan, in Rawalpindi the same year. India fell 13 runs short of the 600-run mark in the first innings, finishing with 587. It was a remarkable comeback from the tourists, courtesy of Gill's defiance, as India at one time in the match was at 211 for five.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store