Leeds (England), June 20, 2025 (ANI): India begins a new era without its batting mainstays Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and frontline off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. Shubman Gill is leading the Test side for the first time, and he will look to upset England for the first time since 2002, 23 years ago. Cricket enthusiasts have exuded confidence in Shubman Gill’s captaincy despite his lack of experience on international stage.
00:19It's a lot of excitement, Shuman Gil is a new captain, it's a lot of experience, but he has a lot of captaincy in IPL.
00:28Gujarat has done a lot of good performances, let's see how he is performing here in coaching under Gautam Gumbi, let's see, hoping for the best.
00:40What do you think today? What do you wish to do today?
00:44In which India and India have played in Kent, KL Rahul has a good performance, Karun Nair has a good performance, Nitish Reddy has a good performance.
00:55If Shardul Thakur also plays, because his performance was a good performance, these players can play well.
01:03And Bumbra has a lot of experience, so there is a lot of expectation from Bumbra and Ravindra.
01:10So, whether it's good for three days, if we win the game, if we win the game, if we win the game, we will win the game, it will be good for us.
01:20So, if there is a good score for us, then we can put them on pressure.
01:25I think that the team is not in Pirat Kohli and Rui Sharma, how much impact will it be?
01:31How much impact will it be?
01:32It will not have to be good for us, but they were a senior player, they were playing a lot of time with test cricket.
01:39So, there will be a lot of experience, but I don't think there will be a lot of players, because there is a lot of experience in this team.
01:51There is Gautam Gambir, Bumbra, KL Rahul, Jadija.
01:58So, they are an experienced player, so let's see what happens.
02:02It's really exciting, you know, seeing Gil come in as captain, you know, taking over that sort of Rohit Kohli sort of era.
02:11It's exciting times, because now we can actually see the youngsters of Indian cricket coming through,
02:17and I think it's a perfect opportunity for that transition.
02:20So, I'm really excited to see that two fresh new teams are really looking forward to it.
02:26What do you want to say about Virat Kohli and Rui Sharma, they are not in the part of the team now?
02:32Yeah, so obviously Virat Kohli, you know, is my number one favourite cricketer.
02:37You know, along with Rohit Sharma as well, you know, two of my favourite icons, my superstars.
02:42It's sad to see them go, but as an Indian fan, India is number one for me, and I think it was the right time for the team,
02:49and the right time with the new World Test Championship cycle coming up, that we get a new team and back behind them, you know?
02:56And that gives them that space to ODI cricket, which will be nice for 2027, hopefully.
03:01India! India! India! India!
03:06I'm extremely excited today. It's the start of the Gill era, start of a new era. It should be an incredible match.
03:25I'm really hoping that we bat first if we win the toss. Bat first, I think the conditions are probably going to be fairly flat.
03:31I think the pitch has been baking, it's been very hot in Leeds over the last few days.
03:34If we bat first, get a big total up, I think that would be very good.
03:38Looking forward to Jace Wall specifically, Jace Wall opening would be incredible.
03:41I think he's a very swashbuckling batsman, and so I think he'll be hitting some good boundaries.
03:46Very interesting to see Gill at four. Also, whoever plays at three, whether it's Gurun Naira, Saisal Dershan, whoever.
03:52That would be very interesting as well to see that.
03:55And, yeah, also to see our bowling line-up, always good to see Bumrah as well.
03:59Hopefully you can run through the top order, that's very important. Get Root out, I think that would be key.
04:03And, yeah, no, it should be an incredible match. Really looking forward to it.
04:06I think the atmosphere is going to be insane.
04:08And, yeah, new era, right? We'll see how it goes.
04:10No expectations, we'll just go into it. Hope for the best, right?
04:13But, INDIA! Come on!
04:15What do you want to say about Girard, Kohli and Wilson?
04:18No, it's sad. It's sad. I mean, I'm a super fan. I'm a huge fan. I love them.
04:23They've been my childhood. But I think it's fair enough, right? Their time was coming.
04:28They maybe weren't performing the best at the end of their career.
04:31And I think it's good, you know, let the baton pass and let the next newer generation come and take that over.
04:36I think that would be good. And, you know, Gil is a very good captain. He's shown that in the IPL.
04:41Obviously, his test batting is sometimes maybe a bit questionable overseas, so we need to see how that goes.
04:46But I have faith in him and I think he'll do well. So, yeah, looking forward to it. Should be good.
