Williamson shared a dressing room with Gill at Gujarat Titans, albeit briefly - the New Zealand great managed just three appearances with the side in 2023 and 2024. "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."

Gill was made captain of the Gujarat Titans last season after the departure of Hardik Pandya. It was a rather forgettable outing for the side, finishing eighth after having won the IPL in their debut season and reaching the final the year after. He has captained India five times in T20Is and was vice-captain to Rohit Sharma in their succesfull 2025 Champions Trophy. Gill has also led a few times at the domestic level, notably in the Duleep Trophy late last year.