According to former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar, Shubman Gill was attempting to stop the England hitters from scoring boundaries in the hopes that wickets would follow.
India lost the inaugural Test of the Anderson-Tendullkar Trophy against England by five wickets at Headingley, Leeds, hence Shubman Gill’s time as Test captain did not begin as he had hoped.
“The majority thought Shubman Gill became very defensive. After the game ended, Manjrekar posted on JioHotstar, “But I think he was trying to trap England by cutting off boundaries, hoping the wickets would come eventually.”
Manjrekar likened Shubman’s style of leadership to that of Virat Kohli, the most successful Test captain of India. The former cricket player turned pundit claimed that Kohli would have been far more aggressive than Shubman in his approach to the match.
Shubman Gill is a young captain, so I hate to compare him to Virat Kohli, but he wouldn’t have set up such a defensive field. A player like Virat Kohli, on the other hand, may say: We have enough runs, I’ll get you all out before tea. With an aggressive field, he would have been at it, but it’s not a given that he would have taken wickets,” Manjrekar stated.
We should be considerate of the fact that he is a new captain: Sanjay Manjrekar
Shubman should try to be a little more attacking in his approach before going defensive, Manjrekar said, even though he acknowledged that England’s bowling attack had better all-round alternatives. The seasoned pundit, however, continued by giving Shubman some leeway because he had recently assumed the captaincy.
“The English squad has more all-around possibilities than Gill, but Gill lacks Bumrah and doesn’t have the same seam assault. I thought India should have started with a conventional field instead of anticipating reverse sweeps, even with Jadeja. Before becoming defensive, you want to start with an offensive mindset, even if it’s just for a few overs. I don’t want to be too harsh on Shubman, though. We should be considerate of the fact that he is a new captain,” he continued.
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