Follow UsWhen England announced their squad for the second Test against India, to be played at Edgbaston in Birmingham from July 2 onwards, one of the most worried men in the Indian set-up would have been skipper Shubman Gill. Why? One would ask, the reason is plain and simple- Jofra Archer.
The English pacer, who has been missing from the red ball format for the past four years, is on a comeback trail in Tests and has been drafted into the English squad for the Edgbaston Test.
Although Archer hasn’t been exponentially impressive in Tests, if his first-class records are anything to go by, then at his full potential, he can be the most lethal weapon in England’s arsenal at Birmingham. If not all Indian batters, Gill, in particular, would have to be a lot wary of Archer, as the Barbados-born has had the Indian skipper’s number in Tests.
Gill was on his maiden England tour in 2021 when Archer dismissed him twice in three innings, going for just 18 runs. Gill averages 9 in Tests against Archer.
It is not just in Tests, but even in T20s, Archer has had the better of Gill, dismissing him in three out of six innings that both of them have been head-to-head in. Archer has gone for 16 runs against Gill in the shortest format, averaging an outstanding 5.3.
Overall, Gill and Archer have been head-to-head on 10 occasions, where Archer has dismissed Gill in five innings and gone for just 53 runs, averaging 10.6. Earlier this year too, it was Archer who dismissed Gill in IPL 2025, with the Indian skipper only being able to score 2 off 3 in that clash.
At Edgbaston, though, Archer has not played even a first-class game, let alone a Test. But Gill doesn’t have a good record at this venue either, scoring only 21 runs in two innings.
Thus, the battle between Gill and Archer is going to be a treat to watch, if Archer does feature in the England XI.