As the Indian cricketing folklore sings praises for Shubman Gill’s performance and leadership on the tour of England, there are some who dug their observations deeper in order to analyse the potential Gill holds and the weaknesses he has, both as a batter and a leader. Gill scored 754 runs on the tour of England, breaking several all-time records and valiantly helped India draw the series 2-2. As far as his leadership credentials are concerned, the great Sachin Tendulkar had some interesting insights to share.
“All in all, a fantastic result. 2-2, things could’ve been different, but there are no ifs and buts in cricket,” said Tendulkar.
“Captaincy has a lot to do with how the bowlers are bowling, how disciplined they are, and how long they can persist with their plans,” Tendulkar further added. “Sometimes what happens is that if things are not going the bowlers’ way, they start experimenting. That is when the captain feels that the fielders he has on the ground are not enough, he needs more, because runs will be coming from everywhere.
“He still looked calm and composed, but when partnerships happen, it becomes difficult for any captain, and the priority becomes to dry their runs.”
Though Sachin feels there were areas in Gill’s decision making as a captain that could’ve been different, overall, the control the India skipper had on the game and his team impressed him.
“Overall I felt he controlled the team well. There were areas, things could’ve been different but, everyone has their opinion. This was his first series and possibly against the most attacking side in Test cricket. I don’t think any other team bats the way this England side does,” he said.
“Shubman batted brilliantly throughout the series, he looked calm and composed, organised,” said Tendulkar. “When it comes to quality batting, you’ve got to have a clear head and a game plan. And he was extemely consistent as far as his thought process is concerned because it reflects on your footwork. If you are not clear in your head, your body doesn’t respond accordingly. His body responded brilliantly, he looked so much control he had so much time to play the ball.
“There was precision in his footwork. The most important thing that I noticed was the respect to a good ball. Where the tendency sometimes is to push the ball on your front foot even if the ball is not near your foot, he was able to defend there. And consistently defend well on front foot. His ability to leave was very good. Overall, shot selection was very, very good and precise.”