Is captain Shubman Gill to blame for India's bowling flop show? Experts divided
Jasprit Bumrah looked lacklustre for the first time in the series, and Mohammed Siraj appeared fatigued, playing his fourth consecutive Test. Debutant Anshul, bowling military medium, struggled to trouble the England batters consistently, although he did claim the key wicket of Ben Duckett late on Day 2.England raced to 225 for 2 at stumps on Thursday, scoring at over five runs per over. The dominant batting show continued on Friday morning as Joe Root and Ollie Pope made the most of a bright morning and a flat pitch. Bumrah and Siraj opened the day with hostile spells, bowling tight lines—unlike Thursday afternoon, where they had squandered the new ball.However, Root and Pope weathered the storm and kept the scoreboard ticking by attacking Anshul and Ravindra Jadeja. Captain Gill showed little faith in Shardul Thakur despite having picked him as a bowling all-rounder.What was even more baffling was India's reluctance to use Washington Sundar, who had taken a four-wicket haul in the second innings of the previous Test at Lord's. Sundar was not brought into the attack until the 69th over of England's innings.Sundar made an immediate impact, breaking a 144-run stand for the third wicket by removing a well-set Ollie Pope. He then claimed the big wicket of Harry Brook, having the World No. 1 batter stumped.advertisementSundar's ability to strike twice in quick succession, along with the drift he was getting on Day 3, raised further questions about why captain Gill did not trust his Gujarat Titans teammate earlier.#Sundar's got the golden touch today!Two quick wickets and #HarryBrook is walking back.#ENGvIND 4th TEST, DAY 3 | LIVE NOW on JioHotstar https://t.co/l55AM1kN1p pic.twitter.com/rzqEloNjC9— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 25, 2025RED FLAG IN GILL'S CAPTAINCYFormer India batter Sanjay Manjrekar said Gill's hesitation to use his spinners was a red flag, though he stressed the entire blame shouldn't fall solely on the captain. He also criticised head coach Gautam Gambhir for not being hands-on enough when the team was under pressure."Somewhere down the line, Shubman Gill feels that his spinner can't get him a wicket. Washington—maybe he doesn't rate him that much. But that is a major red flag for me," Manjrekar told JioStar during the lunch break on Day 3."You have got to be patient with Shubman Gill. I am already an admirer of him. He's been thrown into the deep end. I really think Bumrah should've taken the reins whenever he was fit.advertisement"Gill has been thrown to the wolves on an away tour, against a formidable opposition, and he's held his own so far."This is where Gautam Gambhir, the senior coach, has to come into the picture. It's almost like you need an U19 coach who gets more involved in on-field tactics. Gambhir has got to remind himself that Gill is still in a nascent stage as captain. He is not someone who has led India in 25–30 Tests. He's got to step in. I can understand Brendon McCullum not interfering with Ben Stokes around—but Gambhir must.""I don't see any plausible reason for not using Sundar for 68 overs. I see this as a major red flag in Shubman Gill's trait as captain."TRUST YOUR SPINNERS MOREFormer India head coach Ravi Shastri also urged Gill to trust his second spinner more."I said on my first commentary stint that Gill has to trust his spinners more. Washington gave him four wickets in the last game. He opened things up for India in the last Test at Lord's."He's confident, so give him a go. Spinners like longer spells. On a day like this, you'd expect your spinner to accept responsibility, feel accountable and go out there and do a job."advertisementBROAD DEFENDS GILLHowever, former England pacer Stuart Broad defended Shubman Gill, saying it's not easy for a young captain to contain a rampaging England side on a high-scoring ground like Manchester. Broad cited Pat Cummins in the 2023 Ashes Test at Old Trafford, where the senior Aussie captain appeared clueless when England piled on 589 at over five runs per over."One thing I would say to back Shubman Gill: I watched Pat Cummins here against England in 2023—a very successful Australian captain—have every fielder on the boundary, and he was just chasing leather all day. Didn't know what to bowl, didn't know where to go."This England team, this England batting unit, can make it very, very difficult for captains to find ways of being creative. Because they're so aggressive with what they're doing, the bowlers are missing both sides of the wicket."You can't control anything—particularly the lines the Indian bowlers have gone with, not just last night, but a bit today as well."- EndsTune InMust Watch
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