"Spoke to Virat Kohli recently, the matter of captaincy came up"- Dinesh Karthik sends shockwaves

Former Indian wicketkeeper-batter and commentator Dinesh Karthik opened up about an interesting conversation he had recently with Virat Kohli, which reminded him of Shubman Gill.

Drawing a comparison between Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill’s mindsets, Dinesh Karthik has hinted that the young Indian Test captain is striving for the success that the former captain achieved as a leader.

Dinesh Karthik sees shades of Virat Kohli in Shubman Gill’s captaincy mindset

Karthik revealed that Kohli spoke about how much leading India in Test cricket meant to him. While fans admire Kohli’s incredible records as a batter, the dashing right-hander personally found more joy in the responsibility of captaincy, according to the RCB mentor.

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The cricket pandit further noted that Shubman Gill had expressed a similar feeling after becoming Test captain. Notably, Kohli retired from Test cricket earlier this year, following Rohit Sharma’s retirement.

Now, Gill has taken over the reins and started his journey as captain with the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in England. After two hard-fought tests, the series is level at 1-1.

Dinesh Karthik recalls an interesting conversation with Virat Kohli

Dinesh Karthik said in a Sky Sports podcast, “You spoke about Virat Kohli. I met him a few days ago, and this talk about captaincy came up. He said, ‘People think I’m a great Test cricketer. I enjoyed my test batting, which I did, but the fact is that getting my captaincy was the best thing to happen in my life.’ Why I am saying this is that the same line was used by Shubman Gill.”

Notably, Virat Kohli recently attended the Wimbledon clash between Novak Djokovic and Alex de Minaur and shared an interesting thought about pressure in sports. He said that playing on Centre Court at Wimbledon feels more intense than playing at a packed cricket stadium.

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Shubman Gill’s mindset shift stuns Dinesh Karthik

Recalling his conversation with the new captain, Karthik revealed that Shubman Gill’s approach to batting has changed since becoming the skipper. The former cricketer noted that Gill now puts the team’s needs first, focusing more on what’s best for the side rather than personal goals.

Karthik signed off by saying, “He said, ‘I used to bat differently, but now that I’ve got captaincy, I almost think this is what my team requires, rather than me wanting to do something individually as a batter.’

I said, ‘Wow, this is something for which the world of cricket has to take notice’. Here is a man who has the appetite, he’s got the skill, he’s got the technique, and now he’s got the mindset as well. I’m the captain; I’m going to lead from the front, lead off the front foot.”

Notably, Gill has led by example in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy so far in England. He’s the top run-scorer after two tests, scoring 585 runs at an incredible average of 146.25, including two centuries and a double hundred to his name.

At Edgbaston, Gill made history by scoring both 200 and 150 in the same Test, helping India record a massive 336-run win over Ben Stokes and his team.