Shubman Gill is enjoying a "honeymoon period" as India's Test captain but there will be more pressure on him in the days to come, feels former India skipper Sourav Ganguly.

Ganguly, who turned 53 on Tuesday, recalled his recent interview with PTI while stressing that Indian cricket will never be devoid of talented players.

With 585 runs, Gill is now just 18 short of surpassing Rahul Dravid's tally of 602 (in 2002) for the most runs by an Indian batter in a series in England. India bounced back in splendid fashion to win the Edgbaston Test by a dominant 336 runs and level the five-match series 1-1.

"This is the best I've seen him bat and I'm not surprised,” Ganguly said while talking to reporters at Eden Gardens on the sidelines of his birthday celebration.

"I've recently said in an interview to PTI CEO that there will always be players in Indian cricket after every generation. Whenever there's a void, players will come and fill it.

"There is so much talent in Indian cricket. In every generation you will find players.

"After the great (Sunil) Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, (Sachin) Tendulkar, (Rahul) Dravid, (Anil) Kumble came and then (Virat) Kohli, now Gill, (Yashasvi) Jaiswal, Akash Deep, Mukesh (Kumar), (Mohammed) Siraj...

just see the abundance of talent.

"In every generation, whenever there's a void, they will come and fill it. I've always said that." In the same interview with PTI, Ganguly had also said he's "open" to becoming India's head coach in the future but struck a note of caution.

"It’s too early. Icche onek kichu thake, but reality is different. Do you wish to become coach? Let's see, don't know,” Ganguly said on Tuesday.

Leading India for the first time, Gill has smashed three hundreds (including a double) in two matches so far, and already has 585 runs at an average of 146.25.

His 269 and 161 in Birmingham helped him break multiple records, including the highest match aggregate by an Indian batter. With three more Tests to go, more records await.

Gill is also in line to break Don Bradman's 88-year-old record for most runs as captain in a Test series.

Bradman scored 810 runs in five Tests in the 1936–37 Ashes, averaging 90 with three hundreds. Gill is just 225 runs away from that mark.

"It's phenomenal. I hope his career will take a new direction.

And I believe he's a middle-order batter. He has just become captain, it's a honeymoon period. But there would be more pressure with time. The pressure will build in the next three Tests." Ganguly cautioned that India must start afresh at Lord's despite their emphatic win.

"It's just one-all. There's still a lot to play for with three matches to go. India played well, and have been playing well. They may have lost at Headingley but they played well. But again, you have to start from scratch in the next match (at Lord's)." The new generation under Gill has shone in the ongoing series, hardly making India feel the absence of stalwarts Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and R Ashwin.

But Ganguly said Indian cricket will always stay strong thanks to its abundant talent.

There is talk that unlike the flat pitches in Leeds and Edgbaston, the Lord's surface could be livelier. Ganguly feels that will play into India's hands.

"It will be advantage India if it's a lively pitch. Because our batters will score runs and we'll be in a position to take 20 wickets. I've said before -- if you give grass and life on the wicket, we can take 20 wickets." On the flat surface at Headingley, Ganguly added: "Last week it was very hot in England, so it's flat. But it's a long way to go."

Asked about the bowling combination for Lord's, Ganguly said: "If the surface is brown, Kuldeep has to play 100 per cent. It depends on the surface. If it's green, you can have four pacers. If Kuldeep comes in, it could be either in Nitish (Kumar Reddy) or Washy's (Washington Sundar) place."

Akash Deep impressed with a match haul of 10 wickets in India's big win in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested for workload management in the second Test at Edgbaston.

India fielded a new-look pace attack with senior pacer Mohammed Shami also sidelined by injury.

Both Shami and Akash Deep came up through Bengal's domestic cricket system, despite hailing from different states -- Shami (Uttar Pradesh) and Akash (Bihar).

On the Bengali--non-Bengali debate about players representing Bengal, Ganguly said: "It's their hard work. They have come here, worked hard and with CAB's support have come this far. You have to give credit." Ganguly returned from England earlier on Tuesday and celebrated his 53rd birthday in transit with a small cake-cutting at Dubai.

A video on social media showed him cutting the cake with wife Dona and close friends.

Born on July 8, 1972, Ganguly is widely regarded as one of Indian cricket's most influential leaders, credited with rebuilding the team post the match-fixing scandal of the late '90s and laying the foundation for India's success overseas.

Apart from his captaincy, Ganguly is fondly remembered for his elegant strokeplay and was hailed by Dravid as the “God of the off-side” for his trademark cut shots and exquisite cover drives.

Ganguly scored 7212 runs in Tests from 1996 to 2008 with 16 hundreds.

In ODIs, he remains India's third-highest run-scorer with 11,363 runs and the fourth-highest century maker with 22 tons.