Former Australia captain and ex-India head coach Greg Chappell has backed Shubman Gill to grow into the role of Test captain, saying the youngster showed promise in his debut match as skipper despite India’s five-wicket loss to England in the Leeds Test.
Gill, who was leading India for the first time in Tests, scored a fluent 110 in the first innings, becoming only the third Indian to hit a century on Test captaincy debut and end up on the losing side, after Virat Kohli and Dilip Vengsarkar. His knock was among the five hundreds scored by Indian batters in the match, but England’s fearless fourth-innings chase of 371 – their second highest against India—stole the show.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir backed captain Shubman Gill, defending his decision to under-bowl Shardul Thakur in the series opener against England.
Critics have pointed out Gill’s perceived passivity on the field, especially when compared to the commanding presence of his predecessors Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Questions have also been raised about his tactical decisions on the final day as England’s top and middle order made merry on a flat Day 5 pitch.
However, Chappell urged for patience and perspective, suggesting that the 24-year-old opener has the makings of a long-term leader.
“Shubman Gill had a great start as a captain and as a player even if they did not get the result,” Chappell was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
“It was a terrific Test match. Sadly, India didn’t finish on the correct side of the ledger. There were a lot of good things for them.”
He went on to highlight the learnings Gill and the Indian team management can take forward.
“Both Gill and the Indian think tank would have learned a lot on what to take forward. Gill will only get better and better. I think his start was pretty good. Had the team taken more catches and the tail wagged a bit, the results could have been very different.”
Indeed, dropped catches, particularly during England’s fourth-innings push, proved costly. Ben Duckett led the charge with a blistering 149, while Joe Root (53*) and debutant Jamie Smith (44*) saw the visitors home with calm authority.
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