'Gill's hands were tied...' - Former India cricketer takes dig at team selection in ongoing ENG vs IND 4th Test

Right after the third day of the ongoing 4th Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy, and ahead of Day 4, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar reflected on Shubman Gill's questionable decisions in terms of utilizing the bowlers.

Manjrekar was skeptical about Gill's tactics but also felt that India is lacking in bowling depth. Before the beginning of Day 4, the former international shared a post on social media that has the caption, "Gill's hands were tied with India's lack of bowling depth." Through the discussion, Sanjay tried to maintain a balanced analysis of India's bowling on Day 3.

He said that India started the day in a very improvised manner, learning from the mistakes made on the previous day. Manjrekar was impressed to see the first 5-over spells from Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, especially from Siraj. In the beginning of the day, India created multiple chances, but England somehow endured. After the spells of Bumrah and Siraj, Gill had to go back to Anshul Kamboj and Shardul Thakur to continue the pace tally.

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Why not Sundar when Stokes was struggling?

From there, India's lack of depth in bowling was exposed, felt Manjrekar. Then he was also questioned about underutilizing Washington Sundar. Who bowled brilliantly in the previous match at Lord's, and when he came to bowl at Old Trafford, Sundar made a quick impact. He quickly took away the wickets of Ollie Pope and Harry Brook. Surprisingly, when there were some hints of turn on the surface, Gill took the new ball and went back to his pace bowlers. Ben Stokes was then struggling on the crease and widely known for his weakness against spinners.

Manjrekar: Gill's hands were tied with India's lack of bowling depth https://t.co/5BCn9cIoga

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) July 26, 2025

Pointing out that situation, Sanjay raised the question: when Stokes was vulnerable, why did Gill not continue with Sundar? Along with the bowling depth, Sanjay's concerns about Gill's tactics are valid enough.