Shubman Gill’s been in the spotlight since the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy team was picked. Taking over from Rohit Sharma as India’s Test captain put him front and center. He started strong, hitting two centuries and a double century in the first two games against England.
But the third Test at Lord’s was tough on Gill, both as a batsman and captain. He only scored 16 and 6. Plus, he had an argument with England’s Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett on the third day.
His struggles carried over into the first innings of the fourth Test. Gill, who had been the series’ top scorer, only made 12 before getting out lbw to England captain Ben Stokes, leaving India at 140-3.
Sanjay Manjrekar and Jonathan Trott talked about Gill’s sudden drop in form.
The way Shubman Gill is getting out, he seems unsure since that incident on Day 3, Manjrekar said on JioHotstar.
He played an attacking shot before. This was a good ball that came back in, but I’m looking at a guy who scored a ton of runs in the first few matches. I don’t want to link this dismissal to what happened on Day 3, but he’s not scoring now. It’s a reality check.
He hasn’t failed for long, but he’s getting out to defensive shots. He seems a bit unsure. Something changed on Day 3. He’s a star in India, goes to England, everyone loves him, and now things have changed.
Jonathan Trott added that Gill has become a ‘villain’ in the series.
He’s gone from being a batsman to being seen as a villain after Day 3. Focus shifted from his batting to his leadership. The reaction he got today is probably due to how he acted, said Trott.
The first two Tests were all about Shubman Gill, the batsman, but since then, he’s made himself a target. You have to deal with being a good team and facing criticism. We’ll have to see how long it takes Gill to recover from this.