“Never happened”- Aakash Chopra slams criticism of Shubman Gill’s captaincy; compares it with Virat Kohli’s tenure

Aakash Chopra, a former player for India, has pointed out that during the just-finished Test series against England, there were a number of concerns expressed regarding Shubman Gill's leadership. He emphasized that parallels with past captains, especially Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, were also being made.

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Following Rohit's retirement from Test cricket before the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, Gill was named India's Test captain. After a thrilling six-run victory in the final game at The Oval on Monday, August 4, the visitors drew the five-match series 2-2, demonstrating the relative inexperience of the captain.

Aakash Chopra pointed out that critics had contrasting opinions about Gill's captaincy while comparing him with Kohli.

"Many questions were raised, and there were a few comparisons as well. If Virat Kohli is king, his name (Gill's) has been kept as prince, so the comparisons start quickly. I remember two or three very interesting comparisons. The first was the fight that happened at the Lord's ground. You lost the match after that.

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A ruckus started at that stage as to why he was fighting, and that he should play in his own style. After that, you reached Old Trafford, and it was said that the body language didn't look good and that it never happened like that in Virat Kohli's captaincy, where you just go through the motions," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

Shubman Gill led from the front, scoring 754 runs in 10 innings with four centuries, including the highest score of 269.

"Captaincy is a work in progress, but he’s 25”- Aakash Chopra

Rohit Sharma's captaincy was also compared to Shubman Gill's, according to Aakash Chopra. Although he acknowledged that both Rohit and Kohli were outstanding captains, he said that such comparisons are unjust, emphasizing that each era has its own set of difficulties and that the two legends are no longer with the Test team.

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Shubman Gill is still developing as a captain, according to Aakash Chopra, who also pointed out that Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and MS Dhoni had all made similar errors.

"The captaincy is a work in progress, but he is 25 years old. He will learn. It was just his first series. He was seen following the ball at times, but we have seen that with all captains. We have seen that with Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and everyone, that they placed fielders wherever the ball went at some stage,” Chopra said.

The expert also pointed out that it was easier said than done, even though Gill might have made bolder choices, such as deploying Kuldeep Yadav.

"Could he have been braver in his team selections? I will say yes, he could have been braver, but it's easier said than done. I do feel very strongly that Kuldeep Yadav should have been played in matches, but if you keep yourself in Shubman Gill's shoes, you would say the batting is not doing that good, the No. 3 hasn't gotten settled, Rishabh Pant has gotten injured, and I don't know what needs to be done at No. 6," Chopra observed.

Shubman Gill’s next Test assignment will be against the West Indies in October at home.

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