'Sometimes he did cross the line': Dinesh Karthik on Shubman Gill's aggressive captaincy style

India captain Shubman Gill is garnering praise from all sides after a brilliant batting display in the recent Test series against England. In his first Test series as captain, Gill scored a whopping 754 runs in five matches and finished as the top run-getter of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

Gill had not been in good form in Test cricket prior to taking over the captaincy from Rohit Sharma, who announced his retirement just weeks before the start of the series. However, before leaving for England, Gill had said he would become the top run scorer in the series, and he lived up to his words.

Dinesh Karthik on Shubman Gill’s captaincy style

Former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik has now showered praise on the India star. Speaking to Cricbuzz, Karthik said Gill showed great skill and maturity during the long tour. He pointed out that Gill made some smart changes to his batting technique and handled the pressure from the English media very well.

“He’s been aggressive at times; sometimes he did cross the line. I think he’ll change that about himself to an extent. I hope he doesn’t change it too much. But most importantly, the way he handled the English media [he did it very well]. Walking into this series, people were asking - Shubman Gill, away from India, his record can be better. And he said, ‘I want to be the best batter across both teams’. It’s one thing to have confidence, but you’ve got to back that up with skill. He came prepared. There was a vulnerability in his batting [against] the ball coming back in. He found a way to work on his technique and counter it,” Karthik said.

Karthik singled out Gill’s incredible performance in the second Test at Edgbaston, where the captain scored 430 runs, including a double century (269) and another hundred. “What was the defining part of what he achieved was the hunger and determination. That 269 and the hundred he got at Edgbaston, the amount of time he batted was astounding,” he added.

Gill’s match-winning performance in the second Test helped India level the series 1-1 as they had lost the opening game in Leeds and were behind England coming to Birmingham. The third match at Lord’s was won by England, while the fourth Test in Manchester ended in a draw. India won the fifth and final Test to draw the series and finish on a positive note.

Gill will now lead North Zone in the Duleep Trophy before taking charge of India’s Test side again in October, when they face West Indies in a two-match series. Before that, India are slated to play the 2025 Asia Cup in the UAE and Gill is likely to be picked. However, nothing on that front is confirmed as of yet.