Follow UsIndia let England chase down 373 during the first Test at Headingley. It was the second-highest total that India could not defend, with the highest being 378 at Edgbaston in 2022 under the captaincy of Jasprit Bumrah.
But for a regular captain, this was the highest total that an Indian skipper could not defend. According to former India cricketer Murali Kartik, Indian skipper Shubman Gill lacked authority as a captain on the field, which led to such a devastating result in his maiden Test as the leader of the Indian team.
“At one point, I felt there were too many captains. I just couldn’t understand that. KL Rahul was making hand movements, Rishabh Pant was also doing it, and so was Shubman Gill, who is actually the man appointed as captain. I couldn’t understand those multiple hand signals. You wouldn’t want to complicate things. There is only one captain,” Kartik was quoted by Indian Express as saying on Cricbuzz.
“A senior player making slight changes here and there, correcting someone slightly when they feel they are slightly in the wrong position, sending a third man or short fine, mid-on, mid-off; these are all fine occasionally. However, so many players taking calls so frequently is not a good sign,” he added.
Kartik also echoed the sentiments of many critics who said that Gill, instead of asking his bowlers to bowl according to a plan and set the field accordingly, was actually seen following the ball.
“It did look like Shubman Gill was feeling the pressure, he was following the ball a little bit with his field placements. It is not easy to stamp your authority as captain on the field, especially when your bowlers are not able to stick to your plans and that can be seen,” Kartik said.
The last time India let a team successfully chase down more than 300 in Tests under a regular skipper was in 1977 at the WACA, Perth, against Australia, where Bishan Singh Bedi led the team.