“Absolute box office” - Dinesh Karthik reveals why he is enjoying Shubman Gill as a captain

Former Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has heaped praise on the Indian Test captain Shubman Gill for standing his ground and showing exceptional leadership skills early in his captaincy days on the England tour.

Moving into the details, Gill was involved in an on-field confrontation with England opening batter Zak Crawley on Day 3 of the Lord’s Test for the latter’s time-wasting tactics as India decided to bowl two overs before stumps. However, Crawley’s tactics meant India could bowl only one over.

Ahead of the start of the fourth Test in Manchester, Gill revealed that the England openers came out to the crease 90 seconds late, which was not in the spirit of the game, adding that he wasn’t proud of everything he did on the field.

Speaking on Gill’s press conference ahead of the Manchester Test, Karthik stated it was box office as Gill clearly stated that he had no intention of the on-field moments that had happened at Lord’s as he was playing to win.

“I have really enjoyed him as a captain so far. On the field, he is improving. But off the field is where I have been most impressed. I think yesterday’s press conference was absolutely box office,” Karthik told Sky Sports Cricket.

“I like it, it is good to be feisty. You need to have an identity as a captain. And Shubman Gill, from that third day at Lord’s, has shown that he has a lot of aggression inside him. The result may not have gone his way but the point is it has made for a thrilling Test series so far and his captaincy is right at the forefront of it, backed by his batting skills as well,” he added.

“It didn’t just come out of nowhere. And we had no intention of doing that whatsoever. But you’re playing a game, you’re playing to win, and there are a lot of emotions involved,” he concluded. 

Watch the video: https://x.com/SkyCricket/status/1947947696376938590

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