Published: Jun 30, 2025, 05:39 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 30, 2025, 05:39 PM (IST)
India’s newly appointed Test captain Shubman Gill began his captaincy stint on a disappointing note, as India lost the first Test against England. Despite scoring over 800 runs across both innings, including five centuries, India ended up on the losing side, with England successfully completing the second-highest run chase on their home soil.
It was a harsh reality check for Shubman Gill, and former England captain Alastair Cook expressed sympathy for him. However, Cook remarked that Gill must have been “shell-shocked,” as none of his tactics appeared to work in stopping England.
“I sympathised with the India captain, Shubman Gill, in that fourth innings,” Cook wrote in his column for UK-based newspaper The Times.
“With it going round the park you could see lots of people out on the field making decisions and getting involved with DRS calls, and they got all of those wrong. You can read all the leadership books you like but until you are out there, there is no other feeling like it. I imagine he would have felt shell-shocked,” Cook added.
Gill played an impressive knock, scoring 147 runs in the first innings. Along with him, Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul also smashed centuries, while wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant scored centuries in both innings.
India became the first team in Test cricket history to lose a match despite scoring five centuries. Alastair Cook pointed out that Gill appeared inexperienced, and it was clearly evident in his captaincy.
“I think in India’s second innings a more established captain might have thought ‘we’re 340 ahead and five down, let’s put some pressure on England’. As it was they were bowled out with a lead of just over 370 anyway, but it might have helped their situation to have attacked a bit more,” Cook wrote.
Cook also reflected on the way Jadeja bowled and how he could have done better. He managed to take just one wicket in the entire match, “I thought Jadeja could have bowled into the rough slightly slower – instead he bowled in the way he might have done in India,” Cook wrote.
Cook also suggested that he expects Nitish Kumar Reddy to be part of the playing XI for the second Test at Edgbaston. He also vouched for the inclusion of Kuldeep Yadav
“I expect India to change their team. They might have to leave out either Karun Nair and Sai Sudarshan and play Nitish Kumar Reddy, who can bat and also bowl some phantom seamers, and then they can play Kuldeep Yadav as an extra spinner,” Cook said.
