Shubman Gill was appointed as India’s new Test captain on May 24. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar confirmed the news during India’s squad announcement press conference for the upcoming five-match Test series against England. India will tour England later this month for a five-match series starting June 20 in Leeds. During the series opener at Headingley, Gill, who has played 32 Tests so far, will become the 37th player to captain Team India in Tests. Ahead of his Test debut as captain, Gill attended a press conference in Mumbai on Thursday, June 5, and during the presser, he was asked about his captaincy style. According to Gill, who captained India in five T20Is against Zimbabwe last year, he doesn’t want to follow a specific style of leadership but is hoping that he is able to lead by example as a batter. “There is no particular style that I want to follow. I like to communicate with the players, make them feel secure, talk to them (about) their weaknesses and strengths, give them comfort and bond with them… it is very important when you are a captain of any team. The players can give their 100 per cent only when they feel very secure,” Gill said during India’s pre-departure press conference in Mumbai on Thursday. “As a captain, you definitely want to be able to lead by example, by your performance in any match that you play.” “When I am batting out there, I just want to play as a batsman, and I want to take decisions as a batsman. Having said that, averages and numbers are not something that I look at, but I definitely want to lead the way by my performance,” he added. Gill was preferred for the leadership role in the five-day format of the game over the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. Rahul and Bumrah have captained India in Test cricket in the past, whereas Pant is one of the best players for India in Test cricket. Gill’s appointment came as a surprise for fans, but it was on expected lines because the right-handed batter was part of India’s leadership group in white-ball cricket and had captained the India A team in the past as well.