Shubman Gill will be a mix of Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma as India -captain, says Jos Butler – Inside Sport India

The biggest pressure going into the England-India Test series will be on Shubman Gill, who has massive shoes to fill. He not only replaces Virat Kohli in the middle-order but will also strike as a phenomenal leader, a void that has been left by Rohit Sharma. Both Kohli and Rohit announced their red-ball retirements (almost) together, meaning a complete traditional shift now will be under Gill.

Rohit + Kohli = Gill?

Fascinatingly, Gill’s stint as the captain of the Gujarat Titans (GT) would’ve definitely helped. He took over the reins from Hardik Pandya when he switched his alliance back to the Mumbai Indians (MI) in 2024. His opening season as a leader wasn’t great, but Gill developed himself into a fantastic captain at IPL 2025. Although GT finished fourth (3rd on the table), Gill gave a great account of his captaincy. As per Jos Buttler, who played the entire season under Gill, his leadership traits are a bit of an amalgamation of both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

“He’s a really impressive player and an impressive young man,” Buttler said while speaking on For the Love of Cricket, his new podcast with Stuart Broad. “He’s pretty calm and measured when he speaks, but [it’s] interesting; I feel that he is a bit of a fight on the field for him“ A bit of intensity, pretty passionate. I think he will be a mix of Kohli and Rohit.

It would be fair to say that Buttler might not be wrong in his opinion as well. If the IPL 2025 was anything to go by, Gill showed his true self. His captaincy calls came with a sweet plan. He showed Rohit’s calmness under many pressure situations, while Gill was also aggressive. His belligerent character came out in a couple of incidents, including a moment where Gill lost his cool against umpires.

“Kohli [was] that kind of really aggressive [character]Has the Indian team really transformed in your face for the game. Rohit [was] a little on the other side, a little more relaxed, a very very Cool, calm and collected customer, but with battles like that. I have the feeling that, from my time that Shubman so far, I will be a bit in the middle. He was clearly learned from those two boys … but he will be his own husband“Buttler continued.