Jonathan Trott, a former cricket player for England, has criticised Indian skipper Shubman Gill for his “acting” and negative tone towards Zak Crawley during the third Test match at Lord’s. In the last moments of Day 3, Shubman slapped Crawley because he thought the England opener was deliberately wasting time by not bowling an additional over. India was only able to bowl one over against the England openers after getting knocked out for 387.
The Indians were certain they would bowl two overs before Stumps with just six minutes remaining, but Crawley waited more than a minute to take precautions after the umpires signalled play. Then, during Bumrah’s run-up, Crawley halted him a few times. His first reason was that he wasn’t prepared, and his second was that he wasn’t satisfied with some movement behind the sight screen.
Shubman used some strong language in the final over, telling Crawley to take a stand and face the consequences rather than wasting time. The Indian fielders rushed to the opener after Crawley was hit on the hand and requested that the physio examine him. They started cheering mockingly, as though to imply that he was exaggerating the situation.
Gill’s behaviour during the over didn’t sit well with Trott. Additionally, he made a veiled jab at Virat Kohli, who was notorious for not letting opponents get close.
There was some gamesmanship, but in my opinion, we don’t know what happened while England was fielding or whether they were dishing it out. Speaking on JioHotstar, Trott stated, “I don’t like Shubman Gill’s acting.”
“I simply believe that you set the tone in your role as captain. As previously stated, blaming others and being somewhat combative, akin to a former captain, is akin to putting oneself in the opposition’s way. And that’s not what it’s about, in my opinion. It sets a negative tone, in my opinion. Additionally, I’m willing to be harsh and competitive on the field. Sometimes you simply have to get over it,” Trott remarked.
India
