After Leeds Debacle, Shubman Gill Sent Ominous Warning, Virat Kohli Namedropped: 'He Would Have Shown The Opposition...'

Shubman Gill didn't have the perfect start to his Test captaincy career. India kicked off their England tour with a five-wicket defeat in the first Test at Headingley.

Sanjay Manjrekar Assessed Shubman Gill's Captaincy

This happened to be Shubman's maiden Test as captain following the retirement of Rohit Sharma recently. The management is likely to provide Gill with a long rope as far as the captaincy is concerned. Gill already proved his leadership credentials after leading the Gujarat Titans to the IPL 2025 playoffs, but they lost to the Mumbai Indians in the proceedings. For the next few weeks, the spotlight will be on him as the 25-year-old tries to navigate the English challenges.

Assessing Gill's captaincy in the first Test, Sanjay Manjrekar feels the Indian star was too defensive sometimes. In interaction with Star Sports, he brought up a comparison with Virat Kohli, “Overcast conditions, I know the ball wasn't doing too much, but they pre-empted the English approach and had a far too defensive field. I hate to bring Virat Kohli as a comparison because it's unfair on the young man, but you can just imagine Virat Kohli in that situation."

Gill did manage to show his batting credentials with a sumptuous 147 in the first innings. Despite five batters scoring centuries, India went on to lose the Test as England chased a whopping 371 runs in the 4th innings.

Also Read: WATCH VIDEO: Shubman Gill Leads The Way As India Get Additional Help To Fine-Tune Their Red Ball Playing Skills For The Edgbaston Test

Jasprit Bumrah's Availability Remains A Big Question

Jasprit Bumrah once again showed why he is regarded as one of the best as he picked up a brilliant five-wicket haul to run through the England batting lineup in the first inning. The 31-year-old's participation in the next Test remains a mystery, and Shubman Gill needs to take a call. As per ESPN Cricinfo, he had a full-fledged practice session on Saturday, and a call will only be taken depending on how he fares leading up to the second Test match.

Also Read: IND vs ENG: Shubman Gill Finds Support In India's Arch-Rival, English Legend Backs Newly Appointed Test Skipper While Comparing Him To Ben Stokes