Star India batter Karun Nair has said that the way Test skipper Shubman Gill held everyone together and the encouragement he gave was great to see in the five-Test series against England, which India drew 2-2 in a high-voltage, highly-contested tie which oscillated from one side to the other. Gill topped the series with 754 runs at a brilliant average exceeding 75, featuring a double hundred and three centuries. Gill was on Thursday named skipper of the North Zone team for the upcoming Duleep Trophy, starting August 28, thus marking an official start to his captaincy in Indian cricket. “The way Shubman held everyone together and the encouragement he gave was great to see. He was crystal clear with his communication from the beginning. To achieve what he did as a batter, while also leading the team…as a leader, he exemplified the spirit of Gauti bhai,” Nair said while speaking on ESPNCricinfo. The star Indian cricketer endured a disappointing series, scoring 205 runs across eight innings with just one half-century at the Oval. Despite getting good starts, Nair struggled to convert them into big scores. “I was disappointed at not being able to convert the start at The Oval into a century. But looking back, it was quite important to grind my way on that first day with the team in a tricky position,” Nair said. “I’d done well there previously; I’d gotten a 150 for Northants against Surrey. The nerves were there, but I was feeling good. I was hoping to convert, which I couldn’t,” Nair added. “It was an up-and-down series in that sense and I did reflect a lot. But it’s also important to let go of what has happened and look forward to what I need to do in the next few months,” Nair said. The star India batter doesn’t feature in the South Zone squad for the upcoming Duleep Trophy.