'Hearing him get India captaincy was no surprise but...': Kane Williamson's bold views on Shubman Gill

New Zealand National Cricket Team batting superstar Kane Williamson has shared his bold views on the India National Cricket Team Test captain Shubman Gill.

Kane Williamson felt that Shubman Gill has responded to early challenges of being a skipper in Test cricket "beautifully" and said that the captaincy sits well with him.

Shubman Gill holds a 1-2 record as India's Test captain

After Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from Test cricket in May 2025, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, appointed Shubman Gill as the new Test skipper.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

Shubman Gill became the 37th Test captain of the India National Cricket Team and made his captaincy debut in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 against the England National Cricket Team.

Gill was 25 years and 258 days old at the time of his appointment, becoming the fifth-youngest player to captain India in Test cricket, behind Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi (21 years, 77 days), Sachin Tendulkar (23 years, 169 days), Kapil Dev (24 years, 48 days) and Ravi Shastri (25 years, 229 days).

Shubman Gill performed brilliantly in his debut innings as Test captain and slammed 147 runs, but India lost that match by 5 wickets at Headingley in Leeds.

In the next Test match at Edgbaston in Birmingham, Shubman Gill bettered his performance and returned with scores of 269 & 161, tasting his first success as India registered a dominant 336-run victory.

With the win at Edgbaston, he became the youngest Indian Test captain to win an overseas Test, at age 25 years and 301 days, surpassing Sunil Gavaskar’s previous record. Meanwhile, under his leadership, India lost the third Test match at Lord's in London despite a good performance.

He's absolutely world-class - Kane Williamson on Shubman Gill

In an interaction with TOI, Kane Williamson said that he was not surprised to see BCCI appoint Shubman Gill as Test captain because the youngster is a world-class player across formats. Kane Williamson said:

"He's responded beautifully, hasn't he? I always thought captaincy sits well with Shubman. I know happening in a franchise space is slightly different, you know it's a shorter sort of project versus captain in your country, which is you know it's a lot more consuming. Whilst you're in that role, you're never out of it. It's a much larger role sort of on and off the field."

Also Read: Karun Nair blasted for 'beautiful batting' at No. 3, ordered to score an ugly hundred

"Watching Shubman operate and he's wise beyond his years and you know that responsibility is naturally something that he would look to take on. So hearing him get that opportunity was no surprise to me but you know the quality of the player is something that goes without saying. He's absolutely world-class. And all the other formats throughout... the IPL for a number of years and one day cricket I think he's top of the tree there. Test cricket really is a matter of time."

It's been amazing - Kane Williamson on Shubman Gill's Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy heroics

Shubman Gill has silenced his doubters with his performance in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 as he is currently the leading run-getter with 607 runs in his bag at an exceptional average of 101.16. Kane Williamson is mighty impressed with Gill's heroics in England as he said:

"To see him come over here and conditions that can be challenging with the Dukes from time to time, and dominate like he has, it's been amazing."

Kane Williamson is also optimistic of Gill's success as a captain and suggested that if the 25-year-old keeps his batting and leadership distinct and balanced, he will excel in both areas.

"And then I think goes a long way for him and his comfort in that role as well as a leader of the Indian team. The cricketer Shubman and the leadership qualities that he has... if he separates those then there is real quality in both departments and actually starting sort of embedding the things that you value, along with the head coach," the Kiwi great said.

"Forming that really strong bond... it's really important and I think that's what we're seeing in these early stages. There are going to be really valuable lessons for him and we're looking towards the leader that he will become but it's still early days.