Cook defends Shubman Gill after India captain labelled 'reactive rather than proactive', draws Ben Stokes parallel

Shubman Gill’s first Test as India’s full-time captain has sparked a chorus of concern, not only for the team’s defeat but for the manner in which it unfolded. After India failed to defend a fourth-innings target of 371, with England comfortably chasing it down to win by five wickets, former players have questioned Gill’s approach, with one describing the tactics as more reactive than assertive. India's captain Shubman Gill reacts after his team defeat on day five of the first cricket test match between England and India at Headingley cricket ground in Leeds, northern England(AFP)

Speaking on the Stick to Cricket show, David Lloyd raised concerns about Gill’s tactical nous and on-field clarity despite the young leader being surrounded by experienced players.

“The intrigue is with Shubman Gill, who’s a very inexperienced skipper. How’s he going to come back from that? He’s got Ravindra Jadeja and Karun Nair, who are in their 30s. So he’s got experience in his team. It’s great having a young team that he’s got. But tactically he’s reactive rather than proactive in the stuff that he’s doing,” Lloyd said.

Former England captain Alastair Cook offered a slightly more sympathetic take, comparing Gill’s early days to those of Ben Stokes, who also went through an adjustment period after taking over the England side.

“When you take over a team, there will always be a phase when the team gets used to the new leader. This happened with (Ben) Stokes when he came in. It took a while (for England players) to get used to him when he came in and said, ‘We’re going to try and smash every ball,’” Cook said.

Kartik on Gill

Adding to the voices expressing concern was former Indian spinner Murali Kartik, who pointed to visible confusion on the field during Day 5 of the Leeds Test. Kartik highlighted how multiple players appeared to be issuing tactical instructions, which, in his opinion, muddled the chain of command.

“At one point I felt there were too many captains,” Kartik said on Cricbuzz. “I just couldn’t understand that. KL Rahul was making hand movements, Rishabh Pant was also doing it, and so was Shubman Gill who is actually the man appointed as captain. I couldn’t understand those multiple hand signals. You wouldn’t want to complicate things. There is only one captain.”

He added: “A senior player making slight changes here and there, correcting someone slightly when they feel they are slightly in the wrong position, sending third man or short fine, mid-on, mid-off; these are all fine occasionally. However, so many players taking calls so frequently is not a good sign.”

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