Shubman Gill's captaincy torn apart by recently retired India legend
Table of Contents
Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin dissects current Indian skipper Shubman Gill for portraying questionable tactics with the new ball at Manchester. The Indian skipper has his game plan, as he sidelined Mohammed Siraj to hand debutant Anshul Kamboj the new ball alongside Jasprit Bumrah.
Given the new ball in just the second over on his Test debut, Kamboj had a forgettable first over, as he was hit for three boundaries by the English opener Ben Duckett. As a result of this controversial call from Shubman Gill, England rushed past the new ball's pressure.
Mohammed Siraj was eventually brought into the attack in the 8th over of the game; however, coming in his final spell of the day, the man from Haryana seemed to have found his rhythm eventually. Earlier in the Lord's as well, Gill sidelined Siraj to hand Akash Deep the new ball.
Ravichandran Ashwin dissects Shubman Gill for questionable tactics at Manchester
Ravichandran Ashwin later identified that Kamboj has the natural ability to work wonders with the new and lighter ball, while Mohammed Siraj can make the old ball talk with his scrambled seam and ability to bowl a wide range of lines and lengths.
"Shubman Gill gave the new ball to Anshul Kamboj, and that is highly debatable."
"I can see why Shubman gave him the new ball. There are two reasons for that: Anshul Kamboj is a good exponent; his wrist position is good, he can swing the ball both ways, and Siraj has the ability to bowl well with the old ball. So, I can see merit in that (decision)," opined the former Indian legend.
Though he could not set the stage on fire, Ashwin looked impressed by Kamboj's skillset and has hence backed him to put on a better performance if bowling conditions improve with the due course of the Test.
"We have said this before as well, there was no one bowling in partnership with Jassi. To expect Anshul Kamboj to do that against Bazball in his first Test? We have to cut him some slack."
"I think his first spell was a little disappointing, but he came back very nicely. I wouldn't be surprised if the conditions help tomorrow morning, he could open up a few more wickets," added Ashwin.
India's not-so-convincing batting innings came to a sudden end
India did not play the finest of batting innings at Manchester, though many batters got to a start but could not convert it into anything big. India posted 358 all out in the first innings, with three half-centurions and 2 batters with 40+ scores.
Indian openers gave them a great start until lunch on Day 1; however, unlike the English, the scoring rate looked quite low for India once again on this occasion. KL Rahul, 46, and Shardul Thakur, 41, remained the two supporting innings for the three half-centurions, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, and the warrior prince Rishabh Pant.
Pant came to bat for India on Day 2 despite having a fracture on his right leg, which he sustained during Day 1's play. Pant added a further 17 runs to his innings with the fractured leg and went on to score his fifth 50+ score in the competition.
Shardul Thakur blames captain Shubman Gill
Indian seamer has also openly taken a dig at the Indian skipper, Shubman Gill, for handing him the ball less and not having enough faith in his bowling abilities. Gill had already faced immense criticism for bowling so few overs from his fourth seamer in the first Test at Headingley.
Shardul mentioned it is the captain's call to hand him the ball; the captain needs to have enough faith in his bowlers and give them more opportunities to deliver. Shardul highlighted that he expected to have bowled at least 2 more overs on Day 2 at Manchester.
ALSO READ: Ricky Ponting brutally hammers Shubman Gill, easily exposes his tactical blunders
Tagged:
India National Cricket Team England National Cricket Team India vs England Mohammed Siraj Jasprit Bumrah Anshul Kamboj Ravichandran Ashwin Shubman Gill ICC World Test Championship
