“He’s a very well put together human,” Williamson told ESPNcricinfo. “A great cricketing brain and cares about his team-mates. He’s very sure on how he wants to go about his business, which I think it’s a really strong leadership quality and quite infectious, so there’s no surprises really that he’s touted for leadership for some of the Indian sides in the near future.
“He’s got some really clear thoughts about how he wants to captain. And you know, that’s important. You have some thoughts and you do it with conviction and you learn and you try and get better – and he’s got all of that. He’s got that capability, and you see it in the way he plays, the way you can adjust from format to format, from Test cricket to T20 cricket. He’s done it all at the highest level. So yeah, I think he’s a special player and going to be a fine leader as well.”
Williamson also said that when Gill speaks up, his team-mates take heed. He also liked Gill’s authenticity and his strong desire to be the best.
“He’s clear, concise and to the point, so when it was time to speak, he would stand up, and when he spoke people listened,” Williamson added. “And that’s a really strong quality to have – to know when to say something, and when not to. There’s messages within both those sort of situations.
“He looks after his body. He trains really hard. He spends a lot of time in the gym, conscious of what he eats. The game demands a lot from you, and if you want to play all formats and you want to be at the top, that’s what it takes, and he’s more than willing to give his time and energy to be the best. He has a strong desire to be that.
When you watch him train and you watch him play, something that stands out is the time that he has. He’s got so much time, whether the wicket’s doing a little bit, whether he’s facing guys bowling high speed or moving the ball, he’s so still. He hits the ball in conventional areas, but very, very hard. He’s a beautiful timer of the ball and has a lot of time.”
Even though Gill has the potential to be an all-format player, he has not cemented his place across all three formats just yet. Williamson says that being a leader is one thing, but the player still has to fulfil their format-specific roles in the team first. Gill is already India’s ODI vice-captain, and Williamson feels his addition to the national team’s leadership group is a sign of who takes India forward in the next few years.
“Every leader has a job to do with the skills that they have. With bat, ball, whatever it is, but you’re trying to pick the best leader for the group that you have. They’ve clearly identified Shubman as that person by bringing him into perhaps some of the vice-captaincy roles to get a closer understanding of how the leadership of the team works under Rohit [Sharma], who’s done it so successfully for such a long period of time.
“I think that’s probably what that vice-captaincy role really means. That there’s a guy here that we know is going to perhaps take this team forward. So how can we bring him in a little bit closer to get an understanding of how the Indian team have had so much success. There’s a lot of good that’s happening there clearly, so sharing that information is really important.
“I’ve never really seen him too overawed. He’s on this path of getting better and better. He’s got strong aspirations to keep doing that, and, and I’m sure we’re just going to continue to see it in these other formats.”
IPL 2025 will be Gill’s second season as a full-time IPL captain. In his first season after taking over from Hardik Pandya, GT finished eighth last season, their worst performance across their first three seasons. Armed with a new-look team after the auction, Gill will be keen to make GT consistent again, like they were in IPL 2022 and 2023, finishing as debutant champions and runners-up in successive years.