“Shubman Gill should’ve informed Ravindra Jadeja to take more risks” - Greg Chappell on India’s Lord’s Test defeat

Former Team India head coach Greg Chappell felt the Indian Test captain Shubman Gill should’ve been more proactive in informing the Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja to take up an aggressive approach on the fifth and final day of the Lord’s Test, which India lost by 22 runs to trail the series by 1-2.

In his column for ESPNCricinfo, Chappell felt that though Jadeja played a disciplined knock of an unbeaten 61-run knock, taking up a defensive approach with Nitish Kumar Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj not making it big on the other end.

"Left with the tail, Jadeja did what many specialist batters do in that situation: he shielded the tail, farmed the strike, and played conservatively. On the surface, it was a disciplined innings. But was it the right one?" Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNcricinfo. 

"The truth is, Jadeja was the only recognised batter left. If India were to chase down the target, he had to take calculated risks. His job wasn't to leave balls and collect singles - it was to win the match,” he wrote.

"That clarity should have come from the dressing room, from the captain. He needed to be told directly: 'You are the man who has to get this done. The tail's job is to hang in there with you, but you must go for the win,’” he went on to write.

In the fourth innings, with other Indian batters failing to live up to expectations, Jadeja held one end, scoring a beautiful 61-run unbeaten knock off 181 deliveries. However, Chopra cited an example of how Ben Stokes’ 135-run unbeaten knock in Leeds in Ashes 2019 turned things in England’s favour with Jack Leech batting on the other end.

"We saw exactly that from England's Ben Stokes against Australia in Leeds in 2019. In a similar situation, he backed himself and produced one of the best innings of the past 50 years. Importantly, Stokes played that innings knowing that, succeed or fail, his team and leadership would have his back. That's the mindset that needs to be fostered in any great team.

"And this is where Gill's leadership challenge becomes very real. He must start setting those expectations - clearly, proactively, and consistently,” he wrote in his column.

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