After India’s defeat in the Leeds Test, questions are being raised on Shubman Gill’s captaincy. Former England captain Nasser Hussain spoke openly about Gill’s leadership style.
He said that Gill did not have the “aura” on the field that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had.
Hussain believes that Gill’s approach was “reactive”, that is, he was reacting according to the situation, not planning in advance.
India played a Test under Gill’s captaincy for the first time at Headingley. Gill was given the command after Rohit Sharma’s retirement.
India scored five centuries in both innings, but England still chased the target of 371 runs.
This was England’s second-highest run chase against India.
Hussain said, “Gill has to find his way now. After captains like Kohli and Rohit, Gill will have to create such dominance on the field that it is immediately visible that he is a leader.”
“X-factor” of captaincy missing?
Hussain called Gill’s captaincy “committee by captaincy”. That is, Gill’s own stand was not clear amidst the advice of many senior players like Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul on the field.
Hussain told that Gill was seen chasing the ball and was reactive instead of being proactive. Hussain was especially surprised about Ravindra Jadeja’s bowling. Jadeja did not take advantage of the rough area of the pitch on the fifth day.
Hussain said, “Neither Gill nor any senior guided Jadeja to bowl in the rough.”
Apart from this, India’s slip fielding and lower order batting also became a big reason for the defeat.
Hussain said that India needs a seam bowling all-rounder like Hardik Pandya or Kapil Dev. Experiments like Shardul Thakur and Nitish Reddy have failed so far.
Fans and experts are also divided on Gill’s captaincy. Some believe that it was the first Test, Gill needs time.
A fan wrote, “Shubhman Gill captaincy is being found out. Still early days, clueless bowling and slippery fielders, still could have stemmed the flow of runs. Seemed he had no ideas.”
Another Wrote, “It is not easy to score a century in the first Test and captain.”
If a senior like Jadeja has to guide a 25-year-old captain, then questions should be raised on him too.
