Haddin to Gill: India Captain Must Address 'Attitude' After Fielding Woes in England Test

Former Australian wicketkeeper-batter Brad Haddin has urged India's new Test captain, Shubman Gill, to make an "attitude adjustment" following India's recent five-wicket defeat to England in the first Test of the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy 2025 at Headingley.

The loss, despite India boasting five centurions throughout the match, was largely blamed on a subpar fielding performance. The team dropped eight catches across both innings, ultimately enabling England to successfully chase down a target of 371 runs.

India's fielding errors proved especially costly regarding England opener Ben Duckett. He was dropped in both innings and capitalized by scoring 211 runs, including a match-winning 149 in the fourth innings. Duckett's performance earned him the Player of the Match award and propelled England to a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

"Every great team, no matter what year you're playing, the one standout feature they've always had is that they've been a great fielding team. And I think that is one legacy Gill has start to leave now on this team. He needs an attitude adjustment," Haddin stated on the Willow Talk podcast.

The former Australian keeper also suggested that the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 could be contributing to the declining fielding standards.

"If you want to field well and compete the whole time, it's only attitude. You can do all your technical work off the field and have as many coaches as anyone, but it won't matter. Even in the IPL this year, the catching was horrible. And that could be a byproduct," Haddin added.

The Indian team's poor fielding overshadowed their batting performance, where they managed to post competitive totals in both innings. Even with spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, the pace attack struggled to make a significant impact, further hampered by the dropped catches.

Team India is currently preparing for the second Test match, scheduled to take place at Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham from July 2-6, 2025. The team will need to urgently address their fielding concerns to level the series.

England has already announced their squad for the second Test, with Ben Stokes remaining as captain. Key players such as Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, and Chris Woakes are included in the squad, as they aim to capitalize on their advantage in the series.