Not Kohli! Gavaskar Says Gill Looked Like 3 Former Indian Captains In Birmingham Test
Sunil Gavaskar has lauded Shubman Gill's leadership in the second Test against England, comparing him to Ajit Wadekar, Kapil Dev and Rahul Dravid.
Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has said that Shubman Gill looked like an 'amalgam' of Ajit Wadekar, former India captain Kapil Dev and former India head coach Rahul Dravid during the second Test against England in Birmingham, as Gill & Co. broke a longstanding jinx of India not winning a single Test at the venue.
Speaking about India's rare Test series wins in England, under Wadekar in 1971, Kapil in 1986 and Dravid 18 years ago, Gavaskar identified distinctive traits tying these skippers together, calm, composed captaincy.
Gavaskar said that all three skippers possessed a calm and composed demeanour, a trait he believes played a key role in guiding India to those memorable series wins against England.
'It might be pertinent to note that India have won a Test series in England only thrice. In 1971 under Ajit Wadekar, in 1986 under Kapil Dev and in 2007 under Rahul Dravid. All three were the coolest skippers one could ever hope for," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.
'The laconic style of Wadekar, the rip-roaring yet controlled style of Kapil and the intense and thoughtful method of Dravid," Gavaskar said.
Gill took over the leadership after Rohit Sharma's sudden retirement from Tests. Ahead of the series, many were questioning the former's batting technique in the longest format.
'Not once did these three ever get excited, whatever the situation and that calm certainty was infectious. Shubman Gill in Birmingham looked like an amalgam of these three," Gavaskar said.
'Intense and iconic while scoring a double century and a century, rip roaring as well as thoughtful as his bowlers ran through the England batting in both innings," Gavaskar added.
India lost the third Test against England at Lord's by 22 runs to go 1-2 down in the series and the upcoming Manchester Test becomes a do-or-die encounter for the visitors as well as a big test for Gill's captaincy.
The two sides will face off in the fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in Manchester beginning July 23.
Gill has been quite aggressive during the series and his behaviour at Edgbaston mirrored ace India batter Virat Kohli's famous hundred celebration at the same venue seven years back.
First Published:
July 21, 2025, 08:37 IST
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