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Veteran Indian batter KL Rahul revealed reaching out to Shubman Gill as soon as the latter was announced as the Test captain ahead of the five-Test series in England, starting at Leeds today (June 20). With Rohit Sharma announcing his Test retirement last month, India appointed young batter Gill to take over the captaincy role in the red-ball format.
Without Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Rahul is India's most experienced specialist batter in the ongoing UK tour. The 33-year-old has played 58 Tests overall, including nine in England.
Meanwhile, Gill has led India only once previously in the five-match T20I series in Zimbabwe in 2024.
Talking about his conversation with Gill ahead of the England series, Rahul told Sony Sports (via Hindustan Times):
"I reached out to Shubman the minute the team was announced, and when he was announced (as) the captain. (I told him) You will always find me around, any help, any guidance, if you need someone to share something with or talk to, I'm always there. But I believe you need to give people their space to really follow their gut instinct. If they need help, I'm always there."Gill has played only three Tests in England with little to show for with the bat, averaging 14.66 in six innings. His overall Test numbers pale in comparison to his incredible ODI record, with an average of only 35.05 in 32 outings.
"Going to try and help out everyone in the team" - KL Rahul on India's Test side ahead of England series
KL Rahul urged the Indian Test side to perform and take accountability as a collective group, irrespective of the results. India ended the 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle on a somber note, suffering back-to-back series losses to New Zealand and Australia by 0-3 and 1-3 margins, respectively.
They missed the WTC final for the first time in tournament history after finishing runners-up in the first two cycles.
"We have been together. (If) We don't get results our way, somewhere along the way, everyone makes mistakes. That's not going to change. We are going to try and help out everyone in the team. I'm always there," said Rahul (via the aforementioned source).Rahul was part of India's last two Test tours of England in 2018 and 2021/22. After losing 1-4 in 2018, India played the hosts on level terms in 2021/22, with the five-match series ending in a 2-2 draw.
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Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran
English (US)