NEW DELHI: Indian captain Shubman Gill ruled out a drop in their intensity and said they will field their strongest playing XI in their pursuit of a 2-0 series sweep against a demoralised West Indies in the final Test beginning on Friday.
India thumped West Indies by an innings and 140 runs inside three days of the opening Test in Ahmedabad and look on course to win their first Test series under Gill’s captaincy at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium.
West Indies were blanked 3-0 by Australia in their previous Test series in July, which included the ignominy of being bundled out for 27 in the final Test in Kingston.
India, currently third in the World Test Championship standings, are also on a high after winning the Asia Cup T20 tournament in the UAE last month.
“I don’t think your intensity drops depending on the opposition,” Gill told reporters on Thursday.
“It doesn’t matter who you’re playing. We want to be able to play at our own intensity. Playing for India, you don’t need external motivation to up your intensity. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing West Indies, Bangladesh, Australia or England.
“We want to be able to play at our own intensity, and we want to maintain our own standards.”
Gill said that his biggest opponent could be “mental fatigue” after he recently took over charge of the 50-over side.
Gill conceded that it was a challenge to play all three international formats, but that was what drove him.
“Physically most of the time I feel fine, but sometimes there is mental fatigue because when you are constantly playing,” Gill told reporters. “There is obviously a certain expectation that I have from myself.”
Immediately after play ended on day three of the first Test, Gill was named to succeed Rohit Sharma as ODI captain, adding to the 26-year-old’s workload.
“I think that is the challenge about being able to play all the formats for India,” said the skipper. “And I want to play and succeed in all the formats for the country, and win ICC titles.”
Gill, who made his Test debut in December 2020, took over as Test skipper in May from Rohit. He was India’s leading scorer in the drawn five-Test series in England with 754 runs. He was also vice-captain of the Asia Cup-winning T20 team.
Gill did not disclose India’s playing XI but made it clear that they would field the “strongest 11” players keeping in mind the WTC implication of the series outcome.
While Gill felt they played the “perfect game” in Ahmedabad, Sai Sudharsan is yet to nail down the number three position managing seven in India’s lone innings in Ahmedabad.
The left-hander has one fifty in seven innings in that crucial position but Gill was ready to be patient with the 23-year-old.
“You have to give young players more opportunities,” he said.
West Indies captain Roston Chase drew inspiration from his chat with three former West Indies captains — Viv Richards, Richie Richardson and Brian Lara — ahead of the match.
“I had the privilege of speaking with all three of them, and they basically said the same thing. They just told me to keep believing,” all-rounder Chase said. “Obviously we’re down right now, but it has to change at some point. Change can start from now, and it starts with the belief and the mindset of each and every player…”
Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2025
