Former England captain Alastair Cook said Shubman Gill must have been “shell-shocked” when none of his methods worked during the first Test in Headingley, Leeds. Despite reaching more than 800 runs in both innings, India lost the five-match series opener.
Cook sympathised with the young Indian skipper, pointing out that having numerous voices in decision-making could have complicated matters for him. He also confessed that Gill’s inexperience was visible throughout the play.
“I sympathised with India’s skipper, Shubman Gill, in the fourth innings. With it running around the park, you could see a lot of people out on the pitch making decisions and participating in DRS calls, and they all got it wrong. You can read all the leadership books you want, but nothing beats being out there. “I imagine he would have been shell-shocked,” Cook wrote in his Times column.
Cook suggested that a more experienced captain may have urged the players to put pressure on England. He also believed that Ravindra Jadeja should have tried something else with the ball to change the momentum.
“I believe that in India’s second innings, a more experienced skipper could have said, ‘We’re 340 ahead and five down, let’s put some pressure on England. As it was, they were bowled out with a lead of just over 370, although attacking a little more might have aided their predicament,” Cook wrote.
“I thought Jadeja could have bowled into the rough slightly slower – instead he bowled in the way he might have done in India,” commented Alastair Cook.
The former England opener also urged that Nitish Kumar Reddy be included in the playing XI for the second Test at Edgbaston, and he strongly supported Kuldeep Yadav’s participation.
“I expect India to change their team.” They may have to drop either Karun Nair or Sai Sudharsan in favour of Nitish Kumar Reddy, who can bat and deliver some phantom seamers, with Kuldeep Yadav serving as an additional spinner, according to Cook.
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