“There should be no doubt over Shubman Gill's talent” - Gautam Gambhir slams Gill’s critics

Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir has backed the newly appointed Indian Test captain Shubman Gill after the visitors settled for a draw on the fifth and final day of the Manchester Test, though still trailing the series by 1-2.

Notably, Gill received a lot of wrath on the third day of the Manchester Test for not utilizing Washington Sundar properly in the bowling attack. Interestingly, Sundar was brought into the attack in the 69th over of England’s innings, which raised a lot of eyebrows.

However, Gill received backing from the head coach, Gambhir, who stated that anyone who doubts Gill’s talent knows how to talk about the game but can’t understand it. Notably, Gill has smacked four centuries in as many games on the England tour so far.

"First of all, there should be no doubt over Shubman Gill's talent. Anyone who doubts it only knows how to talk about cricket, not understand it. Some players take time to settle in international cricket. No one in this dressing room is surprised by what Shubman has done. And honestly, even if he hadn't performed, we would still back his talent. Those who truly understand the game have always recognised the ability he possesses - and now, he's living up to it,” Gambhir told reporters after the Manchester Test.

"As for this supposed burden of captaincy - I don't think you see any of that when he walks out to bat. He goes in as a batter, not as a captain," Gambhir added.

With his fourth century of the series, Gill emerged as the first Asian batter to score over 700 runs in a single Test series in England. In eight innings, Gill has accumulated 722 runs at an average of 90.25 to lead the run-scoring charts in the ongoing five-match Test series.

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