Shubman Gill praised but branded 'helpless captain' with brutal attack on India pace trio: 'He led better than Stokes'

Shubman Gill's tenure as India's Test captain began with a defeat, but he received a big vote of confidence from ex-cricketer Mohammad Kaif, who suggested he led better than winning skipper Ben Stokes. The 25-year-old batter, who took over captaincy charge from Rohit Sharma, scored a brilliant century in his first Test as skipper, which was also his maiden triple-figure score outside Asia in the format. He managed to pass the batting test, but the five-wicket loss at Headingley kept him under the scanner. Shubman Gill’s stint as India’s Test captain got off to a disappointing start with a loss in his debut match at the helm.(AFP)

The Indian bowlers failed to put enough pressure on the hosts on the final day, and the fielders also let them down throughout the Test. Shubman's captaincy was also labelled as defensive by many, with India lacking aggression on the final day while defending a 371-run target.

However, Kaif was impressed with Gill's captaincy and went as far as saying his leadership outshone that of the victorious England skipper Stokes.

"As a young captain, Gill did brilliantly by giving Bumrah 4-4 overs and rotating him well. He led better than Ben Stokes. Well done, thumbs up," Kaif said on his YouTube channel.

‘Shubman Gill was playing with one and a half bowlers’

Meanwhile, Kaif described Gill as a ‘helpless captain’, pointing out that he effectively had just one and a half bowlers at his disposal. He referred to Jasprit Bumrah as the lone spearhead, and Ravindra Jadeja offered partial support, while the rest of the pace attack failed to provide any meaningful assistance.

“ Helpless captain because he was playing with one and a half bowlers. One is Bumrah, and the remaining half is Jadeja. There was no support from Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, or Shardul. You can’t win the Test match with 1.5 bowlers. He did captaincy very well and looked good to me. He used his resources well,” he added.

Before the start of the series, Gill was also under pressure to prove his red-ball batting credentials, while he managed to silence his critics with a brilliant first innings century in Leeds.

“I will praise him a lot because it was a big Test for him in this series. It was important for him to score in England. Everyone said he doesn’t know how to play in England, [you] made him captain, but hasn’t scored runs. But he passed the Test with the bat, scored a century, excellent batting. Apart from captaincy, he showed he can deliver with the bat," he added.

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