Up until a month ago, Shubman Gill wasn't even part of India's Playing XI. He was one of the four reserved players travelling with the team during the T20 World Cup, a clear demotion given the glittering success he enjoyed in 2023, emerging as the IPL's leading run-getter and opening with Rohit Sharma at the ODI World Cup. He even had a fantastic Test series against England and scored above 500 runs in IPL 2024. Still, Gill received a rough deal when it came to T20Is.

However, as the Indian team won the World Cup and set its target on the 2026 T20WC, fortunes changed for Gill. He was appointed India captain for the tour of Zimbabwe and later given the vice-captaincy of the team in white-ball set-up, taking over the post from Hardik Pandya in ODI. Clearly, it's clearly no secret who the BCCI and team management is grooming to being India's next captain, and as chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar said, although there are no guarantees, Gill seems to be the one to carry Indian cricket into the future.

Having taken over a new role, Gill, speaking two days before the start of the India vs Sri Lanka T20Is, spoke on a range of topics, starting with the communication conveyed to him after replacing Hardik as the team's vice-captain. With a new coach in Gautam Gambhir at the helm, Gill has only had a couple of net sessions with him but understands that the goal is common – to take Indian cricket to greater heights.

"We are the world champions, and we will look to play accordingly, and, hopefully, we will have more success under the new coaching staff. This is the first time I am working with him (Gambhir). But during those two net sessions, his intent and communication have been very clear. He is very clear about which player he wants to work with at a particular time and on which areas he wants to work with him," Gill said during a press conference on Thursday.

Gill looks to blend in

The year 2023 started on a very superlative note for Gill. He was racking up centuries for fun and carried that form until the start of the World Cup. However, after missing out the first few games due to a bout of dengue, Gill has struggled for form, especially in T20Is. He found his groove back in Zimbabwe, peeling off consecutive half-centuries, but Gill realises there's a long way to go and a whole lot of room for improvement.

"My performance in T20Is before the World Cup this year wasn't how I had expected it to be. Hopefully, going forward, in the upcoming cycle - I think we play 30-40 T20Is [before the next T20 World Cup] - I can improve my performance when it comes to batting, and also [we can improve] as a team," he said.

Being part of the highly successful Rahul Dravid-Rohit Sharma era, Gill makes a transformation into the Gambhir-Suryakumar Yadav tenure. Weighing in on the SKY-GG combo, Gill emphasised that the two are very similar in their working styles and hopes to blend into the leadership role smoothly with Surya and Gambhir around.

"I think everybody is on the same page. I have played under Surya bhai, and I think both their (Gambhir and Suryakumar) way of communication and thinking is similar."