Shastri Shows No Mercy To Gill After Blunders On Day 3: "24 Hours Late..."

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has criticised Shubman Gill for his captaincy on Day 3 of the 4th Test against England in Manchester on Friday. Shastri's rant came after England reached 544/7 at the close of play, taking a hefty 186-run lead so far in the first innings. Speaking on Sky Sports, Shastri blasted Gill for bringing Washington Sundar too late into the attack. Sundar dismissed Ollie Pope and Harry Brook in quick succession to give India a glimmer of hope. Shastri also questioned Gill's decision to give the new ball to debutant Anshul Kamboj, claiming that it took the pressure off England. 

"He took four wickets in the last game. Then you bring that bloke after 67, 69 overs. I mean, what does it tell that player? Here, I've taken four. I should be like a front-runner, bowling within the first 30, 35 overs. And you're getting me on after 69. And then he takes the first two wickets. So tactically, I thought they were found wanting. I thought Siraj should have taken the new ball yesterday. Instead of giving it to Kamboj, who's new, playing his first Test match. That let the pressure off England. Then the bouncer tactic, which they're 24 hours late. That should have been tried yesterday to see if they could have made further inroads. So tactically a lot was missing," said Shastri.

However, Shastri is hopeful that Gill will improve as a captain with passing time, but feels that he needs help from head coach Gautam Gambhir and some of the senior players.

"I'll cite an example of Virat when he took over. He was the other way, as far as Shubman goes. He was extra, ultra-aggressive. Where you had to, at times, from the dressing room, calm him down, especially with field placing. It was a case of as if you wanted five wickets every session of play. It doesn't happen. Sometimes you've got to, you know, respect the conditions and set fields accordingly. And that's why I think the team management becomes now crucial in helping someone like Shubman Gill over the first year and a half. I think that is the key," he added.

Shastri also criticised some of the senior players in the side, saying that they need to step up as they can set the field for themselves.

"The senior players in the side, they have to start being accountable and be able to set their own fields, have their own ideas. That should come from the bowlers as well. Okay, I want to try this now, captain. What do you think? Rather than the captain going and telling them, if they played 50, 60 test matches and more, it should be them going and telling the captain, listen, I need to take a wicket and I want to set this kind of field. That's what Stokes does. He thinks how he's going to disrupt things and find ways of breaking partnerships," said Shastri.

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