Murali Kartik, ex-Indian cricket spinner, wasn’t feeling Shubman Gill’s leadership during the first Test against England. India couldn’t defend 371 in the last innings, and Gill’s team took a 5-wicket hit.
Kartik mentioned that Gill seemed to struggle to control things in his debut as captain. He noted too many folks were giving him advice constantly. He thinks the captain should lead, and senior players should only offer ideas.
We can look for reasons, but we made 835 runs, a bowler got five wickets, and we still lost by five wickets. It felt like there were too many leaders. I didn’t get it. Sometimes KL Rahul had suggestions, Rishabh Pant too, and Shubman Gill was also doing his thing; it was all confusing, Kartik stated on Cricbuzz.
I get that senior players will make a suggestion if they see something once in a blue moon, it doesn’t look good if it keeps happening again and again, he said.
Gill’s choices during the first Test have gotten some heat following England’s five-wicket victory. Nasser Hussain, a former captain, said that he didn’t really see Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s vibe on the field.
India lost the first Test despite five batters hitting centuries. England chased down 371 in the fourth innings, taking a 1-0 lead in the series.
It was a trial by fire for Gill in his first Test as captain after Rohit Sharma retired. Hussain thought the young leader was reacting instead of planning ahead.
I watched somebody trying to work it out, Hussain said on Sky Sports. He (Gill) didn’t quite have that field presence that Rohit and (Virat Kohli) have. I reckon he followed the game a lot and reacted instead of acted.
With Rohit and Kohli leading, you just knew who was calling the shots. But in this game, when I watched I saw two or three captains, it was like a group effort, Hussain remarked, suggesting Gill didn’t take full control.