Virat Kohli pulled in as Sanjay Manjrekar reveals ‘Rishabh Pant’ reason behind Shubman Gill’s struggles
Published - 25 Jul 2025, 02:30 PM | Updated - 25 Jul 2025, 11:43 PM

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Former India National Cricket Team batsman Sanjay Manjrekar has namedropped Virat Kohli while revealing the reason behind the struggles of Team India under captain Shubman Gill.
Sanjay Manjrekar remembered Virat Kohli's era as Test captain and said that the India National Cricket Team never looked flat under his guidance.
Also Read: Virat Kohli's private data leaked in England by close aide
India struggling BIG TIME in Manchester
The visitors are having a tough time in the ongoing fourth Test match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 against England at Old Trafford in Manchester.
India were invited to bat first in the match and the openers dealt with the tough conditions very well, setting up a platform for a colossal score.
However, the middle-order batters were not able to make the most of it, and India ended up posting 358 runs on the board in 114.1 overs despite batting one and a half days.
Sai Sudharsan (61), Yashasvi Jaiswal (58), Rishabh Pant (54), and KL Rahul (46) emerged as the top performers for the Indian team in the first innings of the Manchester.
When it was India's turn to bowl on Day 2, they were absolutely awful. The Jasprit Bumrah-led bowling attack was taken to cleaners by Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, and the pacers didn't bowl enough threatening deliveries.
Run-scoring was made pretty easy for the batters due to poor bowling, and England piled up over 200 runs at a run rate of over 4.80 in no time. At stumps on Day 2, England were at 225/2 with Joe Root and Ollie Pope in the middle.
You've got to remember Virat Kohli as captain - Sanjay Manjrekar
Speaking after the day's play, Sanjay Manjrekar said that Virat Kohli was not the best captain tactically, but he ensured that the Indian team didn't look flat and were intense even when they were catching up with the opposition.
“You've got to remember Virat Kohli as captain. Tactically, and when he picked his playing XI, he may not have been the best - people may not have agreed with it. But, there was never a flat-looking Indian team even when they were catching up with the opposition. They made sure that the spirit was there,” Sanjay Manjrekar said on ESPNCricinfo.
Shubman Gill hasn't had his company on the field - Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar further admitted that the current Indian team hasn't looked very flat either, but the absence of Rishabh Pant has hurt the Test skipper, Shubman Gill, badly.
Manjrekar feels that the Test vice-captain Rishabh Pant can offer valuable insights to his captain Shubman Gill, but him not being on the field in the Lord's Test and now in the Manchester Test means Gill is left with a lack of support.
"I don't say that this Indian team looked flat. These were difficult conditions, but Rishabh Pant makes a difference being on the field and Shubman Gill hasn't had his company on the field for a while," Manjrekar explained.
Notably, Pant stayed off the field in the third Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy due to a finger injury, and in the ongoing Test match at Old Trafford, he has fractured his foot.
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Sanjay Manjrekar Rishabh Pant Virat Kohli Shubman Gill India vs England IND vs ENG England National Cricket Team India National Cricket TeamAbout the Author

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