'Kohli would not have such defensive field' - Sanjay Manjrekar on Shubman Gill's captaincy after Headingley defeat

Former India cricketer, now a commentator and a cricket expert, Sanjay Manjrekar analyzed Shubman Gill's captaincy in a critical manner. He compared India's new Test skipper's leadership methods with the former Virat Kohli's. After a thorough scrutiny, Manjrekar explained that the 25-year-old placed his fielders in the defensive approach in the Headingley Test, where England won by 5 wickets, chasing 371 runs. The former cricketer suggested Gill think in a more attacking way before taking guard to defend. In Headingley, the team India captain perhaps wanted to prevent the big shots—the boundaries—to restrict England's run rate and put the batters under pressure, Manjrekar shared his views. 

"Most people felt Shubman Gill went too defensive. But I think he was trying to trap England by cutting off boundaries, hoping the wickets would come eventually," Sanjay added. 

"I hate to bring Virat Kohli as a comparison, as Shubman Gill is a young captain, but he would not have put such a defensive field. That's different from someone like Virat Kohli, who might say, We have enough runs; I'll get you all out before tea. Whether he would have gotten wickets with an attacking field is not guaranteed, but he would have been at it." 

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Cricket expert asked to take more intense approach

England won the first of the five-match Test series by chasing a 371-run target. On the 5th day, the host team hunts 350 runs for the victory lap. Ben Duckett was in the lead role with his vast range of strokes. Against the Indian bowling attack, he used the reverse sweep as one of his prime counterattacking shots. Later, England captain Ben Stokes also tried to do the same. 

Manjrekar, in his explanation, also highlighted England's style of gameplay to show how Gill could oppose their tactics. He said, "I felt India should've started with a standard field rather than pre-empting reverse sweeps. You want to start with attacking intent—even if only for a few overs—before going defensive. That said, I don't want to be overly critical of Shubman. He's a new captain, and we should be understanding of that."