When Zak Crawley was at Lord’s, Shubman Gill encouraged him to “grow some ba**s.” The fact that he said them was more telling than the fact that the words were incisive.
It was unclear at the time if Gill wanted to make an early impression on the position or what kind of Test captain he would be. His first two games had been steady, if not particularly noteworthy. Sometimes he seems happy to play the role without fully inhabiting it. Naturally, he continued to attend the job’s rhythms, which he acknowledged have been making him feel more mentally exhausted at the end of fielding days. However, on that third night at Lord’s, something changed. The sound level increased. The edge showed through. Gill was now actively influencing the contest rather than merely responding to it.
In some respects, this Gill has come to light because of his batting. He will have the assurance that he doesn’t have to prove himself every innings after reaching the third Test with around 600 runs under his belt. His instincts may have been released by that form, enabling him to focus more on the world around him and less on himself. And a more loud, assertive skipper is starting to emerge in that area.
The most obvious indication is how he has developed his tactical judgement. Gill had to figure out how to limit his resources in the first Test. The overs of the 101 first innings were divided as follows: 25, 27, 20, 23, and 6. Shardul Thakur, the fourth seamer, bowled those six overs. Gill had trouble getting into the game and finally added him in the 40th over, by which time the Dukes ball had softened and the moment had passed.
At Lord’s, the sequencing was superior. In the 14th, Nitish Reddy joined the assault. He also claimed two Nursery End wickets in his opening over. More than just timing made a difference; trust and allowing a less obvious choice to establish themselves and have an impact on the game were key factors.
He has also gotten better at reading the bowlers. Mohammed Siraj had to request a change of ends in Birmingham. Gill was already ahead of that curve at Lord’s. Like most lead bowlers, Bumrah began at the Pavilion End but was moved to the Nursery End after just four overs, as Gill was pleased to see how his talisman’s special action would work against the slope. On a quiet opening day, all bowlers had worked from both ends in two sessions. A little detail, but one that demonstrated his willingness to seek answers even when the game was in an attritional phase.
Additionally, field settings have gradually gotten more proactive. Particularly in Leeds, there was a rather reactive vibe, with fielders shifting after the ball had revealed the openings. Gill started to change that at Edgbaston, where he was even heard saying “Jaddu bhai” to get the big shot to come over. He took it a step farther at Lord’s. On the morning following the crisis, he gave the ‘keeper instructions to move up to the stump and had two deep gullies positioned strategically for a drive against Crawley. Nitish Reddy’s hard-handed shot was caught by the second of those.
Gill had his fine leg stationed very straight and showed Brook empty real estate at square leg, forcing him into a flatter, riskier sweep later in the morning session when Harry Brook led a fast reply with a couple of scooped fours off Akash Deep. In the following over, he was bowled after missing that exact stroke. Ben Stokes’ dismissal was also the result of field adjustments that forced a slog sweep instead of the traditional one that had bowled him.
Gill used the short-ball technique to attack Jamie Smith once more at Edgbaston, when England was 84 for 5. His
Not that all of his calls have been answered. move didn’t work, and England found a 303-run sixth-wicket stand despite having runs in the bank to go looking for a wicket. Sadly, Prasidh Krishna was the fall guy, and his returns suffered. However, there were hints of Gill’s prolonged thought process even throughout that stand. He held Siraj and Akash Deep back for second new ball bursts instead of overbowling them. They broke the innings open on fresher legs.
He still has some aspects of his captaincy to work out. For instance, even though his strategies can be disputed, he uses spin. He has expressed that he prefers control over flair from his second spinner, but he has also talked about the necessity of fielding attacks that take 20 wickets. Because Gill and Gautam Gambhir appreciate Washington’s overqualified status as a No. 8 batter, he was selected over Kuldeep Yadav.
Naturally, handling the media is a significant aspect of being an Indian captain. Captains’ public speech reveals something about their handling of the position. MS Dhoni kept the media at bay and was largely unconcerned. It frequently became a declaration of identity under Virat Kohli, who made it bold, aggressive, and ‘us vs them’. During his brief tenure as Test captain, Rohit Sharma introduced a more sombre and realistic tone. Gill has been measured thus far. Not rigid, not disengaged. He is happy to point out his team’s shortcomings without criticising anyone.
Naturally, this was before he learnt that his team was facing instigation charges for that Lord’s flashpoint. At that point, he went out to Old Trafford and referred to England’s time-wasting strategies as being against the spirit of cricket.
There were repercussions for the confrontation he had at Lord’s. It made the opposition take notice. England, which had been slipping, found a little more resistance. The same thing might have happened at his Manchester press conference. All of it is a part of his development. The difficulty now is to make sure that spark serves his own team as well, that it serves as motivation for his own batting rather than as a diversion.
Gill is still a captain at the beginning of something after three Test matches. He is in charge of a club that is in transition and is currently dealing with the fallout from significant departures. And he does make mistakes. The learning curve is also a factor. And for the first time, Gill is starting to show that he can lead in ways other than just using the bat.
The Lord’s surely did not crown him, and he is far from being a finished thing. However, it felt like the first time he really took command.
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