Shubman Gill's Defensive Tactics Under Scrutiny After England's Triumph In First Test

The result of the first test played between India and England in Leeds has finally come to an end, and England achieved a wonderful victory by 5 wickets against Shubman Gill's new transition-phase Indian test team. Everyone knew that if the team lost the first test, then questions would definitely be raised about the Indian captain, and that is exactly whathappened. After losing the first test, now Shubman Gill's defensive captaincy has come under question. England started the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy with a victory, and this was their second-biggest run chase till now, which they achieved very successfully. In India's first test match, as captain, Gill is being accused of playing too much defensively and chasing the ball as England lost 5 wickets while chasing the target of 371.

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has given a statement after yesterday's defeat where he said,

"Most people felt that Shubman Gill became too defensive. But I think he was trying to trap England by cutting boundaries, hoping to get wickets eventually."

On day 5, Gill started the game when there were clouds in the sky, about which Manjrekar says that if there was a player like Virat Kohli here, he would never have done this.

He said,

"I don't like to compare Virat Kohli because Shubman Gill is a young captain, but he would not have set a defensive field. It is different from someone like Virat Kohli, who can say, We have enough runs; I will get you all out before tea. Whether he gets wickets with defensive fielding or not, it is difficult to say, but he would have done it."

The former Indian batsman also said that Gill did not have the same bowling attack that Kohli had at that time, like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Ishant Sharma in the box.

He said,

"Gill does not have a seam attack like England—although they have Bumrah, the English team has more all-round options. Even with Jadeja, I felt India should have started with a standard field instead of preventing the reverse sweep. You want to start with an aggressive intent before being defensive—even if it is just for a few overs. However, I don't want to criticize Shubman too much. He is a new captain, and we must understand that."

Currently, England is leading the series with 1-0, and the second Test between India and England will commence on July 2 in Birmingham.