Shubman Gill Gets Vote Of Confidence After Experts Accuse Him Of "Copying Someone"
India captain Shubman Gill came under heavy scrutiny following the team's narrow defeat to England in the Lord's Test earlier this week.
- India captain Shubman Gill faced criticism after India's narrow defeat at Lord's against England
- Former India batter Aakash Chopra defended Gill's actions as part of his captaincy duties
- 'I was reading somewhere that Gill was trying to copy someone,' said Chopra
India captain Shubman Gill came under heavy scrutiny following the team's narrow defeat to England in the Lord's Test earlier this week. Gill, who scored 430 runs in the second Test at Birmingham, which India won to level the series, has been accused of riling up the England players with his Virat Kohli-like aggressive celebrations during the course of the match. Gill was also criticised for confronting Crawley, who was seen wasting time to avoid playing another over before Stumps on Day 3.
However, former India batter Aakash Chopra feels it's all part of Gill's duty as he is captain of the team.
"That altercation, I was reading somewhere that he shouldn't have done that, that England got motivated because of that, and that Gill was trying to copy someone, and everyone should be their own self. I would say there was nothing wrong in it, to begin with. As a captain, sometimes you feel it's your duty," Chopra said while responding to a query in a video uploaded on his YouTube channel.
Regarding Gill's aggressive celebrations, Chopra suggested that the Indian skipper was trying to motivate his bowlers.
"Once you have batted, you want to encourage your bowlers. If Zak Crawley was taking a lot of time, it's all gamesmanship. We have also done it, and if Crawley was taking time and didn't want the second over to be bowled, which is absolutely fine, the other side of that is you go and give it to him. He should get to know that what he was doing was wrong," he added.
Chopra added that Gill has done well as a captain so far, and insisted that he needs more time to settle in.
"In the first match, he looked like a captain who was following the ball a little. He came into his own as a batter in the second match. Not that he didn't score runs in the first match, but he scored 250-plus and 150-plus in the second, 430 runs in just one match. He wrote an excellent story for himself at Edgbaston," said Chopra.
"I think he is doing fine. Sometimes it takes a little time to understand and figure out what needs to be done. Sometimes you become proactive, and become reactive at other times. A lot sort of things are going to happen as it's a new time for Gill. He is a new captain and might not do everything right," he pointed out.
India Cricket Team
England Cricket Team
Virat Kohli