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"He Will Learn...": Deep Dasgupta Defends Shubman Gill Amid Captaincy Storm

Soumyajit Dutta

Deep Dasgupta defends Shubman Gill [Source: @sunnimdlayek/X.com]Deep Dasgupta defends Shubman Gill [Source: @sunnimdlayek/X.com]

Indian skipper Shubman Gill faces intense scrutiny over tactical decisions in the Manchester Test, particularly the continued exclusion of spinner Kuldeep Yadav during Joe Root's record-breaking century (13,409 Test runs). Criticism escalated after Nasser Hussain labelled India's performance "littered with Shubman Gill mistakes."

Former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta has strongly defended the young captain, urging patience given the challenging nature of leading an inexperienced squad in England on his first assignment.

Dasgupta Asks Critics To Be Patient With Gill

Taking to his official X handle (Twitter), Dasgupta emphasised the unique pressure of captaining in England while defending young Shubman Gill.

"Seeing a lot of criticism of Shubman in the media. I will say it once again – it's one of the toughest assignments for any Indian captain to captain in England. And Shubman got this as his first assignment, with a young, comparatively inexperienced squad. He will learn on the job. Might not agree with all his calls but we need to be more patient with him," Dasgupta wrote on his X handle.

Necessarily, Dasgupta's comments directly counter Hussain's critique and support Gill’s leadership development during this high-stakes series.

Shubman Gill Answers Critics With the Bat

Amid the captaincy debate, Gill delivered a resolute response on the field. After India collapsed to 0/2 in their second innings, he forged a crucial 174-run partnership with KL Rahul (87) to defy England's attack. Gill remained unbeaten on 78 at stumps, reducing England's lead to 137 runs.

With India ending Day 4 at 174/2, Gill continued the assault on the final day, and reached his fourth Test century of the tour. He became the India captain with most away centuries in a single Test series. However, after breaching the century mark, he was dismissed for 103.