Rohan Chowdhury in Manchester
Just as play resumed on Day 2 at Old Trafford, Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur were holding fort in the middle. On the other end of the stadium, Indian skipper Shubman Gill was seen taking throwdowns in the outdoor nets. A scene like this had drawn praise just a week earlier at Lord’s. Now, it became the target of online mockery.
The RevSportz handle tweeted a picture of Gill’s net session. As usual, multiple updates followed. But this particular post drew unusual traction – over 38,000 impressions, 60-plus reposts, and more than 30 quote tweets, most of them filled with abuse, sarcasm, and criticism.
This, once again, revealed a glaring issue in Indian sports fandom: its short memory and even shorter temper.
Gill, who now holds the record for most runs by an Indian captain in an overseas Test series (619), surpassing Virat Kohli’s 593 in England in 2018, was recently hailed for his brilliant performance at Edgbaston. For a brief moment, the praise flowed freely. But after a modest outing at Lord’s, where he couldn’t convert his starts, the tide of public sentiment quickly turned.
Ironically, during that same Lord’s Test, Gill and opener Yashasvi Jaiswal were applauded for practicing in the nets mid-match, a move seen as a mark of discipline and determination to get better and rectify their errors. Headlines spoke of their hunger to improve.
But the same act at Old Trafford received a wildly different reaction. After scoring just 12 in the first innings, Gill’s net session sparked trolling instead of encouragement.
“Absolute banger, because he can’t bat in the match, so he must bat somewhere,” read one comment. Another sneered, “Gill has the same PR manager as Kohli.” There were jabs like “Overrated! Flat track bully”, and even snide comparisons to Shardul’s performance. Some comments were so vile they don’t merit repeating.
This stark contrast exposes a deeper issue – the toxic inconsistency of the fan narrative. Constructive criticism is part of the game, and players accept that. But public discourse quickly turns personal, abusive, and vicious, especially online.
The same actions can’t be praised one day and mocked the next, based solely on a scorecard. That’s not analysis, it’s opportunism.
Gill is not just a promising batter; he’s the captain of the Indian Test team, carrying the legacy of giants before him. His efforts to improve, even under pressure, should be seen as a mark of character, not a trigger for abuse.
As fans, people must ask themselves: do we support the team, or just the scoreline? If we only cheer when players succeed and vilify them when they falter, we’ve misunderstood what being a fan truly means. It’s time to move beyond fickle outrage and build a culture rooted in respect – for the game, and for those who play it.
Here’s the tweet in question
🚨 #ShubmanGill batting at the nets at Old Trafford as the match goes on!
India 277-5 #ENGvIND
📷 @RohanDC98 pic.twitter.com/SGpQ4rg3bb
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) July 24, 2025
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