 "India's Shubman Gill puts his helmet on during 1st Test against England. Image: Reuters")
Former England cricketer Mark Ramprakash has praised Shubman Gill’s incredible batting and leadership , saying the young Indian captain has all the qualities to lead the next generation after the era of Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Steve Smith, and Kane Williamson, also known as the Fab Four.
Writing in The Guardian, Ramprakash applauded Gill’s performances in the ongoing Test series in England, especially his match-defining efforts in the second Test at Edgbaston, where they made a remarkable turnaround to level the series 1-1. The former England batter believes that the 25-year-old has shown the ability to take the game forward after Kohli, Smith, Root, and Williamson.
“We are coming to the end of a period that has been dominated by the so-called Fab Four – Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson – and the search has been on for players who can take over.
“Gill has shown he can fill those boots and in a wonderfully orthodox style: he plays all formats and is brilliantly adaptable, but with a foundation of classic technique.” The 55-year-old Ramprakash, who played 52 Tests between 1991 and 2002, said instead of captaincy affecting Gill’s performance, it has made him more focused.
‘Captaincy brings the best out of Gill’
Ramprakash also pointed out that captaincy has brought the best out of Gill, rather than distracting him. Gill’s knock of 430 runs across two innings made him the first Indian and Asian captain to score a double century in a Test match in England. He also became only the second Indian after Sunil Gavaskar to score both a double hundred and a ton in the same Test.
“Captaincy can affect a player’s form detrimentally, but it seems to have focused him and his three highest Test scores have been made in the past three weeks.” The 25-year-old Gill became only the second Indian after Sunil Gavaskar to register both a double century and a hundred in the same Test.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsGill also became the first Indian and Asian captain to score a double hundred in a Test match in England as the visitors registered a massive 336-run win over the hosts to level the five-match series 1-1.
India had lost the opening Test at Leeds by five wickets.
“Two games into the series we have already witnessed something very special from Shubman Gill. In the second Test at Edgbaston he produced a real rarity: an individual performance that defines and dominates a game,” Ramprakash wrote.
“Not just piling on the runs, but forcing his opponents to toil in the field until they felt exhausted and out of options. That fatigue affects batters’ mental clarity and their decision-making – what to play, when to leave – as well as their movement and their footwork.
“Reducing England to 25 for three at the end of the second day went a long way to deciding the match. As well as India bowled with the new ball, it was Gill’s remorselessness that created the conditions for it to happen.” The third Test will be played at Lord’s from Thursday.
(With agency inputs)