Shubman Gill’s first-ever Test series as India’s captain in the longest format was a gruelling five-match series in England but the legendary Sachin Tendulkar feels that the 25-year-old fared well in that role. The series, which was the first to have a trophy partially named after Tendulkar – the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, is now being widely rated as among the greatest of the century. Every match went the full five days and with most going well into the last sessions, and the series ended 2-2.
“All in all, a fantastic result. 2-2, things could’ve been different but there are no ifs and buts in cricket,” said Tendulkar in a video on Reddit in which he analysed the series. Tendulkar said that Gill seemed to be searching for ideas a bit whenever England had compiled a good partnership but also stated that it is only natural for a captain to have that approach in such a situation.
“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,” said Tendulkar. “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 is not enough, he needs more, because runs will be coming from everywhere.
“He still looked calm and composed but when partnershops happen, it becomes difficult for any captain and the priority becomes to dry their runs.”
Tendulkar said that overall, Gill seemed to be controlling his team and the game pretty well. “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.
‘Gill’s clear thought process reflected in his footwork’
Tendulkar was gushing with praise for Gill as far as the Indian captain’s own performance with the bat went. The 25-year-old broke a plethora of records as he smashed as many as 754 runs in the series. This included the second Test in which he scored 269 in the first innings and 161 in the second.
“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.
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“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.”
