• Home
  • Who Said What
  • Come Up With An Answer For Gill English Great Pleads Stokes And Co Before Lords Test

"Come Up With An Answer For Gill": English Great Pleads Stokes And Co Before Lord’s Test

Jatin

Shubman Gill has been in sublime form [Source: @CricCrazyJohns/x.com]Shubman Gill has been in sublime form [Source: @CricCrazyJohns/x.com]

You know you are doing something right when a former England cricketer heaps praise on you in the middle of a Test series and Shubman Gill has done just that. From being doubted for his place in the XI to now bossing the number four slot and captaining the Indian Test team, Gill’s rise has been nothing short of sensational.

Mark Butcher Demands Better Counter From England For Gill

With 585 runs in just four innings and a stunning double ton at Edgbaston, Gill’s bat is doing all the talking and it's shouting loud enough to be heard across the world.

Filling Virat Kohli’s shoes at No. 4 is like walking into a gladiator’s arena. But Mark Butcher believes Gill has walked in like he owns the place.

“There aren't many jobs in world sport that come with as much pressure and scrutiny as being Indian cricket captain, right? Not to mention you're filling in Kohli's spot in the order, or Tendulkar's spot in the order,” Butcher told PTI.

According to Mark Butcher, Gill has adapted to the roles perfectly.

“So the pressures were enormous. And so far, he's taken to it like a duck to water. He's just looked very, very comfortable, very serene in terms of his temperament,” he added.

Butcher didn’t just stop at praising Gill’s cool-as-ice demeanour. The former England batter also loved the technical side of Gill’s game.

“Technically, he's played beautifully as well. So what a great start to the series. I mean, he might have some records in his side by the end of it. He's passed enough already. So what's he got? 600 already in the series. It has been an incredible start.”

Butcher also had a word of caution for England’s bowlers. According to him, they are yet to figure out how to stop Gill.

“England will have to come up with an answer for him... because they obviously feel, that you get past the top three or four... and then there are bounties to be had a bit further down the order.”

High Praise For KL Rahul And Jaiswal

Butcher wasn’t done with just Gill. He also reserved high praise for KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal, two of the pillars in India’s new-look top order.

“Every time I've seen KL play, so we go back to the 2021 series here in England, and he batted at the top of the order with Rohit,” Butcher said. “So technically, he just looks very, very suited to top-order batting, really. And the fact that he's now going to have a long run, hopefully, in that position, his average will go upwards of 40 very, very quickly because technically he's fabulous. He's a great player to watch.”

On Jaiswal, Butcher was equally impressed. He echoed what Kumar Sangakkara once told him.

“Jaiswal just loves batting by the looks of it... he’s obsessed by batting and scoring runs. And he does it in a beautifully pleasing way. For somebody who's so young and so relatively inexperienced to sort of look as comfortable at the top of the order in all these different conditions, is magnificent.”

The only small red flag Butcher waved? Maybe Jaiswal’s play against the short ball.

“Yeah, possibly (he has a short ball weakness). It hasn't cost him his wicket as yet. But it'll be something that he'll work on, I'm sure... I'm sure he'll come up with an answer for it.”

Meanwhile, with Shubman Gill leading from the front, KL Rahul solid as ever and Yashasvi Jaiswal oozing talent at the top, India’s batting unit looks like a well-oiled machine. And when praise comes from someone like Mark Butcher, you know the cricketing world is taking notice.

Gill may be just starting his journey as captain, but if his early knocks are anything to go by, India might have just found the perfect heir to Virat Kohli’s throne.