Shubman Gill's Lord's outburst draws comparisons to Virat Kohli's aggressive captaincy style
The last over of Day 3, already a pressure cooker, exploded into verbal fireworks as Gill stormed toward Crawley, sarcastically clapping and throwing verbal jabs. The fiery incident didn't just rattle the English; it also reignited debates over whether Gill is morphing into the next Virat Kohli, both in style and spirit.
The incident: Crawley's delay sparks verbal duel
With six minutes left on the clock, India had time to bowl two overs. But Crawley, nursing what looked like a suspiciously sudden hand injury, stalled. Sensing a tactical delay, Gill lost patience. As reported by NDTV Sports, the Indian skipper charged Crawley and lashed out.
Ben Duckett stepped in, only to receive his share of the captain's rage. The situation prompted former England batter Jonathan Trott to criticize Gill's outburst, calling it 'reminiscent of a previous captain,' a thinly veiled reference to Virat Kohli.
Trott took issue with what he saw as 'acting' from Gill, adding that confrontational behavior diminishes the spirit of the game. Yet to many fans, this was more than drama—it was Gill asserting leadership, refusing to be manipulated by tactics.
Shubman Gill: Not just a poster boy
The Lord's confrontation was not a one-off. Gill has a history of verbal jousts, from jabbing Jimmy Anderson last year to sledging alongside his teammates in recent Tests. His rise through North India's ultra-competitive cricket circuit ensured he never shied away from confrontation—he simply hadn't needed to show it until now.
KL Rahul confirmed the team had expected two overs to be bowled and was frustrated by England's theatrics. Jos Buttler, Gill's IPL teammate, had already predicted that the young captain would blend Kohli's intensity with Rohit Sharma's calm. On Saturday, it was Kohli's imprint that was unmistakable.
A new India under Gill and Gambhir?
The episode also offered insight into India's evolving team culture. Coach Gautam Gambhir, no stranger to on-field aggression, has seemingly given his players and captain the license to fight back. Verbal jabs are no longer incidental; they are part of the playbook.
Whether it's Siraj mocking 'Bazball' or Gill confronting Crawley, this is a team that talks—and won't be talked down to. As the Test series hangs in the balance, one thing is clear: the nice-guy image of Shubman Gill has changed. For better or worse, there's now a visible edge to the captain, one that carries echoes of Kohli's relentless fire.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
19 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Dhoni may be roped in to promote sports, tourism
Now, the Jharkhand government is looking to rope in former Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni in building a roadmap to elevate the state's sports and tourism status. Dhoni recently met Tourism, Art-Culture and Sports minister Sudivya Kumar to discuss a collaboration in boosting the sports infrastructure and tourism potential of the state. According to the minister, Dhoni's experience and commitment will play a pivotal role in taking Jharkhand to new heights in the respective field. Dhoni, however, is yet to release an statement in this regard. Chatbot to help pilgrims during Shravani Mela In a first, Deoghar district administration has launched a Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot, through which, special information will be communicated to visitors about the Shravani Mela, which stated on July 11. The app, which can be downloaded at the click of a link, will provide interesting insights into the history of Deoghar and the Baba Temple. Besides, whatever information may be required by a devotee during the Mela, including railway station, bus stand, airport, hospital and other such data, will be available on the app. In another significant step, surveillance in the Mela area includes facial recognition and headcount cameras, enhancing enhancing crowd control and safety. Govt offices to be fully e-enabled by 2026 Taking a move towards streamlined, paperless governance, the Jharkhand government has launched a comprehensive initiative to digitise all its offices by January 2026. The move, led by Chief Secretary Alka Tiwari, is set to transform traditional bureaucratic workflow into a modern, tech-driven 'e-office' system. The chief secretary has also asked department heads to evaluate the progress of the 'e-Office Light' initiative. Stressing the need for accuracy and efficiency, she has directed the IT Department to ensure that the system is completely error-free and operational across all departments before the deadline. Mukesh Ranjan Our correspondent in Jharkhand mukesh.r@
NDTV
22 minutes ago
- NDTV
India Finding It 'Tough' To Get Over Lord's Test Loss? Jadeja Says 'No One...'
Ajay Jadeja believes that the Indian cricket team dressing room must be having a hard time after the narrow loss against England in the third Test encounter at Lord's. Chasing 193, India were almost down and out after losing their eighth wicket. However, Ravindra Jadeja slammed a gritty half-century and stitched together partnerships with Jasprit Bumrah as well as Mohammed Siraj to keep the visitors in the hunt. The match went down to the wire and it was an unfortunate dismissal that ended Siraj's stay at the crease and clinched the game for England. With 1-2 down in the five-match series, Jadeja said that it will be hard for the team to take in the result at the moment but advised them to take a moment and process the emotions in order to bounce back ahead of the fourth Test match at Old Trafford. 'It's tough to think along those lines while you're in the dressing room. When you play and come so close, you cannot be thinking of it. There will be disappointment, and no one is more disappointed than him. A lot of things happened – what went wrong and what didn't. But real teams are those that emerge out of this strong, but today is not the day to talk about it,' he said on Sony Sports Network. "It's impossible. They have worked their whole lives for it, prepared for this tour, had their strategies, and then when you come this close and loose, it's not easy to take in. They have shown us already how to win from such adversities. No matter how much you console." Meanwhile, former India wicket-keeper batter Surinder Khanna believes Ravindra Jadeja should have been more aggressive on Day 5 of the third Test between India and England after the visitors lost by 22 runs at Lord's. While chasing 193, India's top and middle order showed little to no resistance against the uneven bounce on the pitch and left Jadeja with a massive job to do, with the side reeling at 82/7 at one point. What followed was an extremely gritty innings by the all-rounder as he scored an unbeaten 61 off 181 deliveries but could not get India over the line. Khanna said no one will remember Jadeja's innings as he could not be a hero. "We don't have a batter that can bat with tailenders. Once he was set, maybe he could have scored more runs. I think he will be thinking that he could have made more strokes. When the ball gets soft, Bumrah, Siraj will not be scoring runs, you have to win the match and be a hero. People will forget this 60 (61) not out," Khanna told IANS.
NDTV
22 minutes ago
- NDTV
R Ashwin Spoke To 'Big Cricketer' During Lord's Test, Both Felt Ravindra Jadeja Should've...
Former Indian cricket team spinner R Ashwin revealed his conversation with 'a big cricketer' regarding the Shubman Gill -led side's narrow loss against England on Sunday. Chasing 193, the India top-order struggled massively and although Ravindra Jadeja did slam a gritty half-century, the visitors fell 22 runs short of the target. Ashwin said that Jadeja should have taken a bit more risk when it comes to the run chase but praised him for his stunning effort that showed batters can play Test cricket with patience. "I was messaging a big cricketer throughout the match. I won't take his name, but both of us were discussing the match. Both of us felt that Jadeja should have probably taken a little more risk, but not a lot. The way he played, hats off! Jaddu showed an entire generation of Gen Bold that you can play with patience and skin the Test game," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel. Ashwin further said that both Jadeja and Siraj should have targeted Shoaib Bashir rather than constantly defending the deliveries. Both batters tried to play out the balls but Ashwin believed that a slightly more aggressive approach could have helped them to relieving the pressure. "He could have picked one moment with Siraj and asked him to go after Bashir because Siraj can hit a clean ball. He can hit a spinner to the leg side with the slope," Ashwin said. Legendary India skipper Anil Kumble also echoed similar sentiments as Ashwin. "I was just reminded of one Test match where I lost by 12 runs against Pakistan in Chennai. It (Siraj's dismissal) was a similar kind of dismissal. Just 22 runs. Jadeja left stranded. I mean, he planned to get India this close to winning. But England just stuck to their task," Kumble, who was a part of that line-up in Chennai, said on 'JioHotstar'.
