Former India coach and Australian great Greg Chappell has expressed his support for Shubman Gill, praising the young batter’s early steps as India’s Test captain. Despite India’s five-wicket loss to England in the opening Test at Leeds, Chappell believes Gill showed great promise as a leader.
Speaking at a promotional event in Mumbai on Wednesday (June 25), Chappell said, “It was a terrific Test match. Sadly, India didn’t finish up on the correct side, but there were a lot of good things that they did. Shubman Gill had a great start to his career as a Test match captain. As a player, maybe the result didn’t go the right way, but conditions were probably better for him on the last day than they were at any other stage in the Test match.”
“The Indian think tank will have learned a lot” – Chappell
The former coach also highlighted how much the Indian team management and players could take away from the loss. “So he will have learned a lot from that. The Indian think tank will have learned a lot from what happened in the Test match,” he added.
India were ahead in the game for large periods but failed to capitalise on key moments. Their fielding, especially, came under fire after the team dropped as many as eight catches. Both innings also saw poor contributions from the lower order, leading to collapses that gave England a chance to fight back.
Reflecting on those missed opportunities, Chappell said, “Had the team taken a few more catches and, maybe, if the tail had wagged a bit stronger in both innings, the result could have been very different. But I think there are four Test matches to go. Let’s wait and see, but I think he made a very good start as captain.”
For the latest sports news follow- Revsportz