Shubman Gill's Captaincy Slammed After India's Test Defeat; Inexperience Under Scrutiny

The dramatic collapse of the Indian team on Day 5 of the first Test against England in Leeds has ignited a debate surrounding Shubman Gill's captaincy. Former England cricketers David Lloyd and Alastair Cook have presented contrasting viewpoints on the young captain's leadership.

Despite India's dominance for a significant portion of the match, they suffered a five-wicket defeat against England, granting the hosts a 1-0 advantage in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series.

India captain Shubman Gill and England captain Ben Stokes after the 1st Rothesay Test Match (Image by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Gill's leadership, marking his first major Test assignment as captain, has faced intense scrutiny. India's tactical errors and fielding lapses proved costly on the final day, raising questions about his decision-making.

David Lloyd, during his appearance on Sky Sports' "Stick to Cricket podcast," expressed his criticism of Gill's approach.

"The intrigue is with Shubman Gill, who’s a very inexperienced skipper. How’s he going to come back from that? He’s got Ravindra Jadeja and Karun Nair, who are in their 30s. So he’s got experience in his team. It’s great having a young team that he’s got. But tactically, he’s reactive rather than proactive in the stuff that he’s doing," Lloyd stated. He emphasized Gill's lack of proactiveness, suggesting a more reactive approach to the game.

However, Alastair Cook, another former England captain, advocated for patience. He drew parallels between Gill's situation and Ben Stokes' initial period as captain.

“When you take over a team, there will always be a phase when the team gets used to the new leader. This happened with (Ben) Stokes when he came in. It took a while (for England players) to get used to him when he came in and said, ‘We’re going to try and smash every ball," Cook noted, highlighting the adjustment period required when a new leader takes charge.

India’s defeat was particularly surprising considering the team scored five centuries across both innings — from Rishabh Pant (twice), KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Gill himself. However, significant batting collapses, from 430/3 to 471 and 333/4 to 364, combined with dropped catches, facilitated England's successful chase of 371 under overcast conditions.