Mumbai: It was crucial for “world-class” Shubman Gill to score a truckload of runs to “call the shots” as skipper, former India batter Dilip Vengsarkar said here on Wednesday, adding that young players showed that they are capable of taking Indian cricket forward.

India bounced back to pummel England by 336 runs in the second Test to level the five-Test series 1-1, after starting the tour with a disappointing five-wicket loss in Leeds.

Gill has been at the forefront of India’s attack, amassing a mind-boggling 585 runs in only four innings with three centuries, the highest score being a stunning 269.

“He did very well as a captain, as a batsman, it was very important that he scored runs so that he can call the shots and he can lead from the front, which is very important and he has done that,” Vengsarkar told the media.

“He is an experienced player. He is a world-class batsman and he that showed in England. Because of the English conditions, everybody was thinking what will happen to the Indian team in the absence of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

“But these young players have shown that they are capable of doing it and I am very proud of them,” he said during the launch of Mumbai’s Cricketing season 2025-26.

Gill’s tally of 585 runs in four innings puts him on track to do the unthinkable — to break the record for all-time highest run-tally by any batter in Test history — set by Sir Donald Bradman when he hammered 974 runs in the 1930 Ashes.

By his lofty standards, Gill is 390 runs behind and Vengsarkar said it is possible for the 25-year-old to rewrite the record. “Well, he is in great form and he is an outstanding batsman. I hope he does that.

I don’t know whether he will do it, but I am sure that he has got an opportunity. He is in great form and he should do it, that’s what I feel.”

“But then, what is important is not (get into chasing) personal milestone. Because we are obsessed with personal milestone, which is wrong. The important (point) is to win matches for our country. That is what matters. And the impact of innings or a spell is what matters in the ultimate analysis,” he said.

Without taking any names, Vengsarkar said India have done well in the first two Tests without some of the key players. “India have performed very well and if they win at Lord’s it will make a lot of difference.

I expect them to win at Lord’s and go 2-1,” he said.

“You should not pay much heed to the slope, rather you should play every ball on its merit. Our players are in good form. Akash (Deep) has done a very good job (in the second Test).

“We all say that this player was not there or that player was not there, what will happen now? The other players can also deliver and the other players should also get a chance and that chance is in their hands and they will do it,” he added.