Cliff Notes – Shubman Gill takes control to stamp authority as captain
- Shubman Gill’s century at Headingley marked a significant moment in his captaincy, showcasing his ability to perform under pressure and silence critics regarding his previous lack of hundreds outside Asia and the West Indies.
- Despite the emotional toll of captaincy and the weight of expectations, Gill’s measured approach against England’s pace attack demonstrated his maturity and potential to lead the Indian team effectively.
Shubman Gill takes control to stamp authority as captain
Cold logic had no doubt Shubman Gill was going to score plenty of runs on Bazball pitches against a pace attack whose leader is Chris Woakes and others haven’t played more than five Tests. Cold logic was reasonably certain Gill was going to score a hundred in one of the five Tests even if these were not Bazball pitches and there was a more menacing attack to face.
For how long can this special batter keep missing out? You can point to his average of 35 and no hundreds outside Asia and the West Indies, but he came into this series with a control percentage of 87.73, which is quite extraordinary for the kind of pitches he has played on. Since Gill’s debut, 32 batters have faced 3000 or more balls in Test cricket. Only Saud Shakeel, Kane Williamson and Abdullah Shafique have done better, and we know the kind of pitches they play on. Cold logic said it was only a matter of time his first few mistakes would not go to hand and he would carry on.
Cold logic, though, is not what Indian cricket runs – or most cricket – runs on. Or not exclusively on cold logic. It wouldn’t be half the spectacle if there was no emotion involved. Gill came to England as India Test captain. It is an enormous job. It takes an emotional toll on grizzled veterans let alone a young’un yet to be cement a place in the side.
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Only in the last series Gill was dropped from the XI, although it was highly debatable to be doing so. He got the captaincy ahead of the man that won India their only Test in the last eight, Jasprit Bumrah. He got it ahead of the interim option of KL Rahul or the future options of Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
The selectors are there for a reason, though. They knew what they were doing. They were done with the interim routes, they wanted someone who was the least up and down, and someone who would play every match.
It is the last bit that people were circumspect about. When you are not the unequivocal choice as captain, when you are following in the footsteps of three highly authoritative long-term captains in MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, you need to get the runs to earn that authority as soon as possible. And you need authority when you state that you are prepared to play four tailenders in pursuit of 20 wickets as quickly as possible.
Shubman Gill didn’t hold back with his century celebration Getty Images
More so when you are someone who has been earmarked for greatness from the time you were a kid. Everybody who has seen him has been left awestruck. When a batter such as Gill makes it to the top and doesn’t delivery instant results, people can feel everything is just being handed out to him. The “prince” moniker at such times can be an unfortunate one.
So while a hundred for Gill on a sunny Headingley day with the pitch not doing much is the most natural conclusion, the actual doing of it drew an understandably bigger-then-usual reaction from Gill. There was the usual bow but before that he remove the helmet and exulted, hugged batting partner and vice-captain Pant, and then soaked it all in with the bow.
It is only a tribute to the mastery of these batters that we can say the hundred was an inevitability given the conditions and the attack. There are always challenges at the top level. England tried to buy his wicket with the short ball and the field for it, but Gill, usually a proficient puller of the ball, was cautious with the way he played the shot.
Gill played 17 of them – the most he has done in any of his Test innings – but these were just knocks on the head and not the aggressive trademark Gill pulls in front of square. They were mostly just paddled away for singles to deep square. Only after he reached his hundred did he play one in the air. Only two were the short-arm jabs in front of square: one along the ground to mid-on and one past him. Eleven of the 17 pulls were singles and four of them dots.
The drives and the clips were luxurious. He stood deep in the crease to Josh Tongue and outside it to Woakes. On occasion he walked down to Woakes, but was measured against the quicker ones. The only quibble you could have was his black socks, which were termed “village” on Sky Sports, tongue firmly in cheek. This was just an elite batter making the most of fair-weather conditions against an attack there for the taking, but the innings was about much more. It was about telling people the reports on his talent weren’t exaggerated. It was about taking control of the team he is charged to lead.
It was about comforting those wallowing in the nostalgia of those gone before him. It was about telling India the batting will be all right. That he can now marshal with authority the bowling, which he knows he needs to win Test matches. That he did all this in a silken manner is just the cherry on the top.