The way India’s Shubman Gill and West Indies’ Roston Chase — both still new to captaincy — spoke during the press conference on the eve of the second Test, starting Friday, offered a glimpse into their teams’ state of mind. Not that they were trying to hide something, nor was there anything to hide. Yet, it was hard not to peer through the small window that they left ajar for a brief period while speaking.
Gill, with his neatly combed hair and cleanshaven, boyish face, looked confident and at ease in his chair. He spoke about his recent elevation to ODI captaincy (“a big responsibility and an even bigger honour”); the responsibilities that come with leading the team; the challenges of playing all formats (“sometimes there is mental fatigue… but that’s the challenge”); and the aspirations of winning “ICC titles”. He also talked about the learnings from his predecessor, Rohit Sharma (“the calmness, and the friendship he has among the group”); the support the juniors need (“You have to give young players more opportunities”). In short, he oozed positivity, progress and promise.
“I want to stay [in the] present as [much as] possible and don’t really want to look back on what I’ve been able to achieve or what we, as a team, have been able to achieve,” Gill said.
Chase, on the other hand, looked a bit downbeat, understandable given his side’s massive loss in the first Test. He spoke about the pep talk he received from legendary West Indies cricketers (“they just told me to keep believing”); the hope of getting “that start and to then kick on from there”; the need for one “good innings” to give players the confidence that they “can do it”; the importance of absorbing the “pressure and then transfer it back onto the Indian bowlers”; and the sacrifices he made to commit to the Test captaincy (“I still have opportunities to play franchise cricket. But I have given that up”). In short, a lot of lamenting and pleading.
“Just staying in the present is the biggest challenge for me right now. That’s something I have to go with,” Chase said.
It’s rare for a visiting captain to sing such a melancholic tune in the midst of a series. They usually try to put up a brave face and talk optimistically. But, perhaps, Chase, like head coach Darren Sammy, was tired of maintaining a calm exterior that didn’t sit well with his internal turmoil.
Chase has yet to taste success in four Tests as captain — losing three to Australia at home and one to India away. West Indies have lost 14 of the last 20 Tests (with four wins and two draws). They have failed to beat India in the last 26 Tests, a drought stretching back to 2002. Even individually, Chase hasn’t been doing well. His last Test hundred came in 2019. He has only four fifty-plus scores in last 24 Tests. It’s difficult not to feel dispirited.
“I just think it’s a matter of confidence and continuously playing quality first-class cricket and so on. Just that knowhow and facing good attacks for longer periods, and obviously, trying to improve on faults you may have picked up early on in your career,” Chase said. “It’s just digging deep for those four sessions and trying to stay in the now and not what has happened before in terms of the ball before or the over before. Just staying in the present is the biggest challenge for me right now. That’s something I have to go with.”
Gill, deservedly, is on the happier side of the divide. He started his captaincy stint with a tough tour to England and passed the test with flying colours – he scored 754 runs with four centuries in five Tests (second-most by an Indian batter in a bilateral series) and drew the series 2-2. It’s all rosy at the moment.
“I want to stay [in the] present as [much as] possible and don’t really want to look back on what I’ve been able to achieve or what we, as a team, have been able to achieve. Just want to look forward and win everything that we have in the coming months,” Gill said.
Going into the second Test at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground, Gill and Chase couldn’t have been in a more dissimilar situation. However, the challenge for the two are somewhat similar — keeping their respective team’s motivation levels up. Gill wouldn’t want his team to be complacent against weaker opposition, while Chase would like his player to dig deep and put up a fight.
Gill, with his neatly combed hair and cleanshaven, boyish face, looked confident and at ease in his chair. He spoke about his recent elevation to ODI captaincy (“a big responsibility and an even bigger honour”); the responsibilities that come with leading the team; the challenges of playing all formats (“sometimes there is mental fatigue… but that’s the challenge”); and the aspirations of winning “ICC titles”. He also talked about the learnings from his predecessor, Rohit Sharma (“the calmness, and the friendship he has among the group”); the support the juniors need (“You have to give young players more opportunities”). In short, he oozed positivity, progress and promise.
“I want to stay [in the] present as [much as] possible and don’t really want to look back on what I’ve been able to achieve or what we, as a team, have been able to achieve,” Gill said.
Chase, on the other hand, looked a bit downbeat, understandable given his side’s massive loss in the first Test. He spoke about the pep talk he received from legendary West Indies cricketers (“they just told me to keep believing”); the hope of getting “that start and to then kick on from there”; the need for one “good innings” to give players the confidence that they “can do it”; the importance of absorbing the “pressure and then transfer it back onto the Indian bowlers”; and the sacrifices he made to commit to the Test captaincy (“I still have opportunities to play franchise cricket. But I have given that up”). In short, a lot of lamenting and pleading.
“Just staying in the present is the biggest challenge for me right now. That’s something I have to go with,” Chase said.
It’s rare for a visiting captain to sing such a melancholic tune in the midst of a series. They usually try to put up a brave face and talk optimistically. But, perhaps, Chase, like head coach Darren Sammy, was tired of maintaining a calm exterior that didn’t sit well with his internal turmoil.
Chase has yet to taste success in four Tests as captain — losing three to Australia at home and one to India away. West Indies have lost 14 of the last 20 Tests (with four wins and two draws). They have failed to beat India in the last 26 Tests, a drought stretching back to 2002. Even individually, Chase hasn’t been doing well. His last Test hundred came in 2019. He has only four fifty-plus scores in last 24 Tests. It’s difficult not to feel dispirited.
“I just think it’s a matter of confidence and continuously playing quality first-class cricket and so on. Just that knowhow and facing good attacks for longer periods, and obviously, trying to improve on faults you may have picked up early on in your career,” Chase said. “It’s just digging deep for those four sessions and trying to stay in the now and not what has happened before in terms of the ball before or the over before. Just staying in the present is the biggest challenge for me right now. That’s something I have to go with.”
Gill, deservedly, is on the happier side of the divide. He started his captaincy stint with a tough tour to England and passed the test with flying colours – he scored 754 runs with four centuries in five Tests (second-most by an Indian batter in a bilateral series) and drew the series 2-2. It’s all rosy at the moment.
“I want to stay [in the] present as [much as] possible and don’t really want to look back on what I’ve been able to achieve or what we, as a team, have been able to achieve. Just want to look forward and win everything that we have in the coming months,” Gill said.
Going into the second Test at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground, Gill and Chase couldn’t have been in a more dissimilar situation. However, the challenge for the two are somewhat similar — keeping their respective team’s motivation levels up. Gill wouldn’t want his team to be complacent against weaker opposition, while Chase would like his player to dig deep and put up a fight.
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