Michael Atherton Sends Stark Advisory To England Captain Ben Stokes Before Lord's Test: 'You’d Want To Be In Gill’s Shoes'

Michael Atherton, England's former skipper, has advised Ben Stokes not to break down under pressure while selecting the Playing XI for the Lord's Test against India in London. The former English captain expressed that panic modification would not be the ideal way, and that he would only rejig the seam attack. Atherton also said that he has faith in the team's batting despite some players' lacklustre performance.

Michael Atherton Urges Caution From Captain Ben Stokes Before Lord's Showdown

The England Cricket Team has been under criticism after their disastrous loss at the hands of Team India in the second match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series. The Shubman Gill-led side has breached fortress Edgbaston for the first time and will head to Edgbaston with a lot of positivity. On the other hand, England would have to examine what went wrong for them and make critical amends before the third test match.

However, Michael Atherton wants Ben Stokes not to press the SOS button out of panic after the abominable Edgbaston defeat before making the final call on England's Playing XI for the third test match at Lord's. He added that it would be a test of leadership for the English captain and that he needs to be in Shubman Gill's shoes at this stage.

"Panicked changes are rarely the way to go after defeat. I’d keep faith with the batting and freshen up the seam attack, bringing in Archer and Atkinson for Josh Tongue and Brydon Carse. Right now, though, you’d want to be in Gill’s shoes, not England’s. What a test of leadership this is for Stokes," Michael Atherton wrote in his column for The Times.

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Team India Clinched A Historic Finish Under Shubman Gill's Leadership 

It was a historic moment for Team India in tests as they breached fortress Edgbaston for the first time in red-ball cricket. Captain Shubman Gill achieved a tremendous milestone, which legendary skippers like Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli failed to achieve. Gill has been making waves with his captaincy debut for India in Tests and also putting up a clinical showcase with the bat from the number four spot.

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Shubman Gill looks well-settled in red-ball cricket, and Team India would beam with pride after the historic win in Birmingham. All eyes are now on the home of cricket, where Team India and England will lock horns in the third test match on July 10, 2025.