Gary Kirsten reveals one leadership trait Shubman Gill can pick up from MS Dhoni

Former Team India head coach Gary Kirsten has heaped praise on the newly appointed Indian Test captain, Shubman Gill, stating he is a great thinker of the game and has great potential to be a great leader for the Indian cricket team.

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Notably, Gill has been appointed as the new Test captain of the Indian cricket team, following the retirements of the veteran duo of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from the longest format of the game ahead of the England tour.

“Well, it’s early days. I think he’s got great potential. Captaincy is a whole lot of things that you’ve got to put together. He’s a great thinker in the game. He’s a good player himself. But there’s a whole bunch of things you’ve got to get right. And I think man management is going to play, like any leader,” Kirsten told Rediff.

Furthermore, Kirsten, who helped Team India win the ICC ODI World Cup 2011 after a 28-year gap under the leadership of MS Dhoni, revealed one leadership trait Gill can pick up from the World Cup-winning skipper.

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“Dhoni was an incredible man-manager. If he can get that component of his leadership really fired up, I think he has all the credentials to become a great captain for India,” Kirsten went on to add.

The other player with whom Kirsten closely worked during the 2011 World Cup was current Indian coach Gautam Gambhir. Gambhir’s tenure as coach, especially in red-ball cricket, has not been ideal. With him at the helm, India saw a 3-0 whitewash at home against New Zealand and also lost 3-1 to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Moreover, Kirsten worked with the former Indian opening batter and current Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir during the 2011 World Cup. Though Kirsten doesn’t know much about Gambhir as a coach, he loved Gambhir as a player during his playing days.

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“Well, I don’t know Gautam, the coach, at all. Gautam, the player, I absolutely loved. He’s got a toughness to him that is very useful. I think he’s really strong. But he’s got a personality and he’s got a style. The big thing is does that personality and style connect with Indian players? That’s really what it’s going to be about,” he stated.

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