Shubman Gill is a world-class batter, he is bound to lead India successfully, says Vijayan Bala

New Delhi, July 1 (IANS) Ahead of the second Test against England in Edgbaston, veteran sports author Vijayan Bala backed visiting captain Shubman Gill to come out as a successful leader for the country if he is given the correct support needed.  

Gill's first Test as captain had a mixed result in Leeds. The 25-year-old amassed his highest Test score of 147 during India's first innings but the team lost the match by five wickets to go 0-1 down in the five-match series.  

After the Test retirements of batting stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma last month, Gill was appointed as India's Test skipper with wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant as his deputy.

"People are very worried. They keep on talking about no Virat Kohli, no Rohit Sharma, no Ashwin. See, everyone has his day and they have retired. So we now must look at the new generation. We've had great players retiring in the past, but the cricket did not end with them. New stars came up. Shubman Gill is a world-class batsman. And he has been a leader and if given proper support and encouragement, he is bound to lead India successfully," Bala told IANS on Tuesday.

"The only thing about him is he needs to make decisions on his own and without any worry about anything. That I suppose will come in time to come. And one thing we must not forget that India has tremendous talent. And there is no dearth of talent in any part of cricket. Whether it's batting, bowling, fast bowling, spin bowling, all types. At all levels, we have very, very talented cricketers. We should not judge him by whatever happens in England. We should give him more time and I'm certain in time to come this new era will prove as good if not better than the earlier eras," he added.

Bala, who has authored seven books including six on sports, particularly cricket and the Olympics, aptly detailed what the country should do to increase the medal count in the quadrennial sporting spectacle. 

"The main reason for India not winning as many medals as they should in the Olympics is the absence of a sports culture. And unless this sports culture comes about in a serious manner, it will be very difficult for India to win the number of medals which the top leading countries win. And the only way we can do this is to start from the grassroots level. All schools, in fact, the CBSE and the other boards should insist that all schools that are affiliated to them must have playgrounds, proper coaches, and committed physical education teachers. Only then will we have better sportspersons at the young level.

"In addition to that, we need to have dedicated sports teachers who will, first of all, spot talent. Talent and sports of different games. And then they will train the talent. Of course, the schools need to have coaches who can train the talent. And once they are trained, these children should get exposure at the state level. 

"And then the process follows. The university level, college level and then the state level. And then the top people notice till they come up to the national level. So this is a continuous process and it has to be monitored very carefully. Then we will have a proper sports culture and our country will win many more medals than what they are doing right now," he said. 

Talking about his first book - 'Indian Test Cricket - A Statistical Digest 1932-1974' - which he wrote at the age of 23, Bala said it was his love for the game that motivated him to start his journey as a sports author.

"I had a passion for cricket statistics from the age of almost eight. Difficult to believe, but from the age of eight I loved cricket statistics. It was like music to my ears. So, later on, I kept on collecting statistics and other things. At the age of 23, I was selected by the BCCI to be their east zone representative in their statistical committee.

"And soon after that, it struck me that there was no proper book on Indian Test cricket statistics. So, I got down to the task and I worked on it and brought the book out." 

Bala, who has taught English and was greatly involved in co-curricular and sports activities for over four decades at reputed schools across the country, reflected on his recent two books  - India’s Olympic Medal Winners (Paris 1900 - Paris 2024) and History and Stars of the World's Greatest Sporting Event: From Athens 1896 to Paris 2024 - which extensively talks about many sports legends. 

"The last two books which I brought out were both on the Olympics. They came out about a month or two after the Olympic games. The first book was on the Indian side of it. It covers, for example, all India's Olympic medal winners, starting from Norman Pritchard in 1900 Paris and ending in 2024 Paris. All our medal winners are covered. And there are plenty of interviews of nearly all the medal winners. Plus, you have reports, you have write-ups, you have interviews, you have statistics and pictures. That is the book. It's very complete. Photographs are there of all the teams that participated in hockey plus the individual pictures.

"And then the other book is on the modern summer Olympics from 1896 to 2024. And that particular book covers, in fact, all the modern summer Olympic games. And it has write-ups on each of the summer Olympic games plus 82 outstanding sportspersons from the games have been highlighted and featured. Write-ups on them plus their Olympic records and the book is full of pictures, coloured and black and white," he explained.

Asked about his upcoming book, Bala wants to write about the broadcasting side of sports after being personally involved in it for nearly 50 years. 

"The next book is a topic on which I have been associated with but not written and that is broadcasting. I've been in sports broadcasting almost for the last, well, you can say 48 years. I've been in sports broadcasting. And I have, in fact, 2 years back you'll be happy to know I covered 12 days, 24 hockey matches alone in Hyderabad. So that way I would love to write about Indian sports broadcasting. There are problems associated with it and there are good points.

"But then these points should be highlighted so that we get better quality broadcasters in the future. But this is the book I'm intending to write. I hope I do, I am able to write it so for the benefit of those who wish to become better broadcasters.

"Being out is basically in God's hands, right? I am thinking over it, I'm planning it. So it's still in the planning stage but hopefully in about 3-4 months' time, it should be out," he concluded.