Shubman Gill's AURA hammered as Virat Kohli comparison by India Head Coach takes precedence

Published - 25 Jun 2025, 01:40 PM | Updated - 25 Jun 2025, 01:46 PM

Shubman Gill Rohit Sharma Virat Kohli
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Former England captain Nasser Hussain has backed Ravi Shastri's remark on current Indian test captain Shubman Gill. The former English skipper criticized many loopholes in the current Indian test setup after their loss against England at Headingley.

However, alongside taking a dig at Shubman Gill's captaincy, which the former Englishman felt does not match the aura of Indian veteran Virat Kohli, he also made a vile remark on the return of a 'Hardik Pandya-like' all-rounder in India's test team.

Shubman Gill, the Indian captain, marked his debut as the Indian test captain during the first test at Leeds. Gill took over the captaincy role after former skipper Rohit Sharma retired from the longest format of the game.

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"I thought I saw someone just finding his way, honestly. You've got to be very careful in the first Test match, the people he's taken over from, Kohli, and then Rohit Sharma. I thought he didn't quite have that on-field aura as the names I mentioned there," remarked Nasser Hussain to Sky Sports.

"I looked down from the press box, the commentary position, there were a lot of captains; it was a bit captaincy by committee, which can happen in your early days as a leader because you're still senior players like Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul want to try and help you out as much as possible."

"I thought he followed the ball a lot. I thought he was reactive as opposed to proactive," added Hussain in the post-match session with Sky Sports.

ALSO READ: Gambhir reveals why Harshit Rana was included in the India squad for the 1st Test

Nasser Hussain is disappointed with Jadeja's performance

Nasser Hussain clearly indicated that Ravindra Jadeja could increase his chances of spinning the ball more had he been hitting the rough patches at Headingley on Day 5.

Though the track had considerable help for a spinner, and it could turn the game in India's favour, the English ex-batter revealed that Ravi Shastri kept talking about Ravindra Jadeja's blunder while in the commentary box.

He was also shocked by Shubman Gill, the skipper, not walking off to the veteran all-rounder to have a word and provide any insight on the pitch conditions.

"A word with Jadeja, maybe as a young captain, to go to such an experienced spinner, and go, you do know the rough is out there. Ravi Shastri and Mark Butcher are up there, going, show us where that ball is pitching, and it was pitching nowhere near the rough."

"Ravi was saying, a bit slow, a bit wide, bowl in the rough. I was surprised that not one of the senior players or captains went to Jadeja and said, Can we go a little bit wider. But Ravi's right, they lost the game for two things that he couldn't control," Nasser Hussain opined on Jadeja's performance.

Nasser Hussain calls for a Hardik Pandya comeback in the Shubman Gill-led Playing 11

However, identifying lower-order collapses in both the Indian innings, Nasser Hussain hints towards a probable idea of bringing in any more all-rounders like Axar Patel or a seam bowling all-rounder like Hardik Pandya.

"In England, they are still looking, I think, for that seam bowling all-rounder, you know, someone like a Hardik Pandya, going back to Ravi's times, Kapil Dev or whatever, they are still looking for that lower-order bowler who can bat."

"And if they keep going for, what, seven for 41 and six for 30 or whatever, then this could be a quick series. They need to run down the order," said Hussain to Sky Sports.

Major Reasons India Lost the first test vs. ENG

Two Major Batting Collapses- India suffered two major batting collapses across the two innings of play at the Headingley test. Indians, after losing their 4th wicket of Shubman Gill at 430 runs in the first innings, crumbled down with 7 wickets falling for just 41 runs.

This was followed by yet another batting distress, as 6 wickets fell for just 30 runs in the second innings of play. As a result of this, India fell short of runs while posing a target for England; hence, Captain Shubman Gill could not choke the opposition.

Poor Fielding- Very poor on the field, India dropped around seven catches, of which five catches were dropped in the first innings of play. The likes of Rishabh Pant, Sai Sudharsan and even the great Ravindra Jadeja were found guilty of dropping catches. This will be a huge concern for Shubman Gill, the new captain.

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