Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has applauded Shubman Gill for scoring a century in his first innings as Test captain. He also added that Gill didn’t have a great Test record and was given the captaincy reins more on promise and hope as well. However, Shubman Gill scored an unbeaten 127 off 175 deliveries as India posted 359/3 on Day 1 (Friday, June 20) of the first Test against England in Leeds as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “Captain Gill and batter Gill, he became the fourth Indian to score a century on his captaincy debut. This was a phenomenal and outstanding job, of course, as it’s difficult. All of us were discussing that Shubman, the captain, has to be helped by Shubman, the batter, and Shubman, the batter, hadn’t been tested thus far.”
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“If we see his numbers, his career average was 35, and he had an average of 25 outside Asia. So it wasn’t good. We had made him captain on promise and hope, but will it be a good start, and will he have his time? We used to say king and prince, but the king wasn’t there, and the prince had come,” he further added.
However, Aakash Chopra also stated that Shubman Gill’s century was as significant as Sourav Ganguly’s 144-run knock in the 2023 Brisbane Test against Australia as well.
“He batted extremely well. If I am not wrong, it was his fastest fifty in Test match cricket. He was playing at almost a run-a-ball. He batted dominatingly and right from the start. What’s the significance of this knock? It was the first day of a huge Test series. I recall Sourav’s hundred at the Gabba,” he said.
“Of course, it wasn’t his (Ganguly’s) first tour (as captain), but it was the first Test match. Scoring a hundred in the first Test match, playing a captain’s knock, and taking the team to a commanding and dominating situation. After this, your decisions become stronger. After this, you don’t demand but command respect. I feel he will go in that direction,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
