Gill-Stokes Holds Press Conference Before Headingley Test
- By Thetripurapost Sports Desk, London
- Jun 20, 2025
- 565
India's new Test captain Shubman Gill has said that winning Test series in England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa i.e. SENA countries is bigger than the IPL title for him.
25-year-old Gill said, IPL comes every year, but the opportunity to play a Test series in a place like England comes only 2-3 times in a career.
English captain Ben Stokes said that the Indian team has not weakened even after the retirement of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and R. Ashwin. The team has no shortage of talent. Both the captains were interacting with the media in the pre-match conference of the first Test starting today i.e on June 20 at Headingley Cricket Ground in Leeds.
Key points from Indian captain Gill…
The new team will enter the field without any burden.
Gill said that his team does not have experienced players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and R. Ashwin. This can benefit the team. Our players do not have much experience of playing here (in England). In such a situation, our players are not bringing any old burden.
His team will adopt the confidence that the senior players have given in the last 5-10 years.
Gill will bat at number 4 after Kohli's retirement.
Gill said that after Virat Kohli retired from Tests, he and coach Gautam Gambhir decided that he would bat at number 4. Both Gambhir and I were clear that I want to play at number 4 and he also wanted the same.
Players will get trust and long opportunities.
Gill said that his aim is to create a safe environment for the players so that they can play freely. We have to give trust to the players and tell them clearly what we want from them. Some players will also get long opportunities based on their talent.
Gill said that before the England tour, he had talked to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the IPL and sought advice about the conditions here.
He said that this time the summer in England has been a bit dry, so the playing eleven will be decided at the last moment after looking at the pitch.
3 big things of England captain Ben Stokes...
On the retirement of Rohit-Kohli and Ashwin, Stokes said, Virat is not there, Rohit is not there and Ashwin is not there, but this does not mean that this match against India will be easier than before. We have spent a lot of time in IPL and we know that there is no dearth of talent in India.
On Bumrah's bowling, Stokes said, it will be very challenging for England batsmen to face Jasprit Bumrah. But his team will not focus on just one player. There are 11 players in a team. To win in cricket, the team has to play well.
On the selection of Pope in place of Bethell, Stokes said, it is not difficult to select a player who has scored 170 runs in the last innings. Since I have been the captain, he has scored runs at an average of more than 40 while batting at number-3.