Shubman Gill has begun his captaincy career on a sensational term as his twin centuries in Leeds and in the ongoing Edgbaston Test are testimony to the fact that the 25-year-old is relishing responsibility on his shoulders. The right-hand batter's 269 was a knock full of composure, temperament, and skill. For not even a second, Gill looked fidgety in the middle. His superb knock allowed the visitors to post 587 runs on a pretty flat Edgbaston pitch. However, ahead of day three of the second Test, experts Ravi Shastri, Kumar Sangakkara, and Nasser Hussain were discussing whether it was the right call to make Gill the captain.
With the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, and KL Rahul in the team, the selectors choose to name the young batter as the skipper of the Test team. While the 25-year-old is currently the leading run-scorer in the series, one cannot forget that he was heavily criticized for his leadership in the first Test. For the majority of the Leeds Test, the visitors were in the driver's seat. However, on the last day, England chased a 371-run target with a minimum fuss.
Shubman Gill was criticized for not being more proactive and ringing the changes as India let a huge opportunity slip. Hussain stated now that the star batter is entrusted to be the leader, one has to show some patience.
"Well, there were other options. Obviously, Jasprit Bumrah had done it and done it pretty well. Whenever I'd seen Jasprit do it in a small sample size, you sensed he knew the game and had a great feel for the game. But obviously, with him missing Test matches, that's not ideal. You want continuity as your captain. Rishabh Pant would be a good option. You can see out there in the field, Rishabh last night was doing a lot of the moves," Hussain said during a Sky Sports discussion on Friday.
Also read: IND vs ENG 2025: "Just Flawless" - Sourav Ganguly Lauds Shubman Gill's Knock At Edgbaston
"He has the best view, but also batting at five, keeping and captaining. That may put too much on him. And Shubman has done a good job in the IPL. The other thing is his batting. Without Kohli, without Rohit, you want to make sure it doesn't have a negative impact on his batting. Touring England, he hasn't done particularly well away from home. And if anything, so far, again, small sample size, it's had a real positive impact on his batting and coming in at four," he added.
Shubman Gill has great game awareness: Kumar Sangakkara
The former Sri Lankan captain Sangakkara, who has observed Gill from close quarters as the leader for the Titans in IPL, says that the right-hand batter has a great cricketing IQ and that he will surely get better at captaincy with time.
"One of the things that he's managed to really come and environment with the support of Vikram Solanki as director of cricket and Ashish Nehra as coach. It was in a little bit of turmoil when Hardik Pandya left. Then they have the big auction. Gujarat has a very proud history, even though it's a short one in the IPL, a championship, a final, and a playoff. So he has the cricketing IQ to really manage that," he said.
"When you're captain of an international side, you have premium skill all the time at your disposal. So I think Shubman, by what I've seen now in international and IPL, has both those qualities, good emotional intelligence to manage his team, to align with the coach, set a vision for the side, and really good cricketing IQ as well. And he will learn and become better as he goes along," he added.
Also Read: “Would Love to Play in the Future” - Harry Brook Eyes IPL Comeback After Suspension
Gill, who had come to the England series with a questionable SENA record has so far answered his critics with a sparkling show with bat in hand. Now, it is about taking the form in the captaincy department.
