Team India lost the first match in their ongoing five Test series against England away from home. The side had lots of positives to draw from their first official encounter under Shubman Gill’s leadership as Test captain with several players recording remarkable individual feats.
However, several veterans and analysts targeted the captain for criticism and faulted his approach as India lost the game from a potential winning position. Others sent words of support to the new Test captain after his first game with several positive words of advice for the 25-year-old.
Hussain Criticises Gill, Warns of Potential Collapse for India Against England in 2025 Test
Former England Test captain Nasser Hussain left a scathing evaluation of current Indian skipper Shubman Gill. Hussain faulted Gill’s leadership “aura” and believes the player does not have what it takes to match Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the format:
“I saw someone finding his way. He (Gill) didn’t quite have that on-field aura of Rohit and Virat Kohli. I thought he followed the ball a lot and was reactive rather than proactive,” Hussein said.
Hussain tags Gill’s captaincy as inconsistent
Hussain went on to describe Gill as inconsistent and a player who wanted to be like “two or three captains” in one game:
“When Rohit and Kohli captained, you looked down and you immediately knew who was in charge. But in this game, I saw two or three captains – it felt like captaincy by committee,” he added. The former Test skipper pressed further and warned of a potential washout against England if India do not get their act together from the second series:
“The collapses concern me. In India, they have spin-bowling all-rounders who can bat. But in England, they still haven’t found a seam-bowling all-rounder who can hold the bat. If they keep going 6 for 31 and 7 for 41, this could be a quick series,” he concluded.
Ravi Shastri Defends Team India Skipper While Calling for a Positive Approach After Loss
Former Team India coach Ravi Shastri is popular for his level-headed assessment of complex situations. The popular cricket figure recently called for a calmer approach to criticism while defending Gill after his first match as Test skipper:
“There is a big role for the coaching staff to take the positives. As a captain, Gill has done more than can be asked of him. He got a hundred in his first Test in charge, and the dropped catches and collapses are not in his control,” he said.
Sachin Tendulkar Defends Gill, Predicts 3-1 Test Victory vs ENG Under New Test Captain
Sachin ‘Master Blaster’ Tendulkar is the most-prolific Test batsman in recent history with over 15,000 runs. The retired veteran shared his opinion about current criticism while expressing his support for captain Gill:
“My advice to him [Shubman] would be that he should not worry about what x, y, z is saying,” Sachin said during a recent interview. “His captaincy, whether Shubman is being aggressive, or defensive, or attacking enough, or not a proactive captain, or active captain – whatever that opinion is, it’s only an opinion and it’s from outside,” Sachin added.
Shubman should only think about team interests – Sachin Tendulkar
The veteran batsman continued by saying the new Test captain should embrace narratives that only seek to improve his team’s chances to claim victory in all situations:
“I think what he needs to think about is what was discussed in the dressing room – when they are planning something, are they going according to that plan and whether the decision being made is in the interests of the team – that is what he needs to think about and not about the outside world,” he said.
Tendulkar recalls his 2007 Test success over England; predicts away series win for India
Sachin recalled his side’s triumph over England at the Oval in the 2007 series during this interview. He believes the team can replicate a similar result over their host 18 years after:
“I still remember we were in the dressing room, celebrating at The Oval, the last Test. These kinds of moments stay with you forever. We’re still talking about it 18 years down the line. I hope we’re able to do something this series too, so 20 years down the line we can still talk about it.”
He responded with “I have settled for 3-1 to India” when responding to questions about his predicted scoreline after the ongoing series.
