'I cherish a lot of memories at the Eden Gardens' - Shubman Gill ahead of his first-ever Test match in Kolkata

Published - 13 Nov 2025, 16:03 IST | Updated - 13 Nov 2025, 16:23 IST

India skipper Shubman Gill has expressed his excitement to be playing at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata in a Test match. This will happen during the upcoming first Test of the two-match series between India and South Africa starting November 14. Gill will not only be playing his first red-ball international at the most iconic venues of the country, but also captain the side against the Proteas.

Kolkata, however, isn't anything new to the Punjab-born. He started playing in the Indian Premier League at the venue, in his debut season with Kolkata Knight Riders. Making his debut in 2018, Gill represented KKR till 2021 before finally switching his base to the Gujarat Titans from 2022. The 26-year-old has said that he gets a feeling of being home when he comes to Kolkata to play a game of cricket.

"I cherish a lot of memories at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. My IPL career started here [with Kolkata Knight Riders] and this is one ground whenever I come here I definitely feel like how I feel in the PCA training when we are playing in Punjab, but it's a similar feeling whenever I'm coming here. And yes, we are playing a match here after six years," Gill told ahead of the first Test match against South Africa.

India will be playing their first-ever Test match in Kolkata since 2019, with the most recent being the one against Bangladesh, where both the sides made their debut Day-Night Test match appearance. Shubman Gill did not feature in that game, although he was a part of the squad, where the Virat Kohli-led side beat the Bangla Tigers by an innings and 46 runs.

"The last test match that we did was the Pink Ball Test match [against Bangladesh]. And I wasn't part of the test match, but I was watching it from outside. I was part of the squad. So [tomorrow will be] my first test match here at Eden Gardens, and it is a very big honour for me to be able to lead my country here," Gill added.

Gill will be aiming to carry forward the excellent run of form for himself and his team in Test cricket. However, the challenge is going to be huge, as the Indians will be up against the reigning World Test Championship winners, led by Temba Bavuma. After the Kolkata Test, the action will shift to Guwahati for the second and final match of the red-ball phase of the tour.