New India Test captain Shubman Gill continues to receive flak on his aggressive approach, which was shown during the third Test against England at Lord’s, where things got heated between him and English opener Zak Crawley. On the evening of Day 3, tempers rose when Crawley tried to run down the clock. Shubman Gill, usually a calm one on the field, was seen furious at Crawley’s tactics and had a heated exchange with him.
All eyes will be on Shubman Gill when India get down to action against England in Manchester on Wednesday for the fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. After losing the first Test in Leeds, India made a great comeback at Birmingham with captain Shubman Gill returning with a double ton and a century. Then in the third Test at Lord’s, India lost by 22 runs but what hogged the limelight was Shubman Gill’s animated reaction when Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett were dilly-dallying the Play on Day 3.
Shubman Gill tears into Zak Crawley for late evening drama at Lord’s on Day 3
The third day of the Lord’s Test ended in chaos and sarcasm as England opener Zak Crawley used every second possible to avoid facing a second over before stumps. But what truly lit up the post-match narrative was Tim Southee’s subtle jab at Indian skipper Shubman Gill — for complaining about time-wasting while having done something similar a day earlier.
With scores level at 387 apiece and six minutes left on the clock, India hoped to bowl two overs at the England openers before stumps. But Zak Crawley took his time — adjusting to sight screen issues and then claiming discomfort after a ball struck his glove, despite no visible damage. Jasprit Bumrah responded with sarcastic clapping, and Shubman Gill, fired up and vocal, could be heard telling Crawley to “be brave and bat.”
India captain Shubman Gill tore into England opener Zak Crawley in late drama at Lord’s on July 12. Zak Crawley, batting in England’s 2nd innings, tried to delay the proceedings in the final minutes of Day 3 at Lord’s. The India captain, Shubman, who wanted his pacers to bowl 2 overs in the low evening light noted Crawley’s delay tactics. Angry and unsatisfied, Shubman Gill, walked up to the England opener and chimed in: grow some balls!
The unsavoury dig was made after Crawley continually tried to walk away when Jasprit Bumrah was bowling India’s first over of the 2nd innings. Two overs were scheduled to be played in England’s final innings on Day 3, but Crawley’s delay tactics meant that India could only bowl one over against England in the final moments of the game.
After walking away for a couple of balls, Crawley called in for the physio after getting hit on the gloves by Bumrah’s 5th ball of the over. The furious Indian team walked straight up to Crawley’s face and had several words to say.The crowd joined in on the drama and jeered the players at the end of yet another slow-moving day at Lord’s.
Mohammed Siraj and KL Rahul were two of the prominent players to hurl expletives at the English batters after they flirted with some dark arts to go unscathed on Day 4 of the 3rd Test match. The events led to a heated altercation between England openers Crawley and Ben Duckett as the entire team surrounded the two men in the middle.
India further went to draw level the series 2-2 with Shubman Gill scoring 754 runs at an average of 75.40 on his first overseas tour as skipper for India .Former Australian and ex-KKR pacer Brett Lee is hightly impressed with this level of intense on field captaincy by Shubman Gill and has reserved high praise for the Indian skipper.
Brett Lee impressed Shubman Gill’s fiery exchange with Zak Crawley
Former Australian and ex KKR pacer Brett Lee has reserved hight paraise for Indian skipper Shubman Gill after Team India’s five match away Test series against England . The recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy was Shubman Gill’s first assignment as India’s red- ball skipper.
Brett Lee lauded Shubman Gill the captain for standing up for his players at Lord’s London, in the third test. Shubman Gill was seeing in an heated altercation with England opener Zak Crawley on Day 3. The Indian skipper was visibly upset with Zak Crawley’s time wasting tactics at the end of the day and he gave Zak Crawley an earful. Brett Lee in his latest Youtube video stated in support of Gill that whatever he did was a sign of a good leader on the field . He said :
“What happened at Lord’s, a bit of verbals and chat between both sides, I don’t have an issue with that. And the thing with Shubman Gill, he wants to lead from the front. He is the charge of his troops, and if someone has a go at one of his players, he is going to stand up for them. That’s what happened, and that’s what a good leader should do.”
England secured a 22 runs win at Lord’s. India further went to draw level the series 2-2 with a thriller of a win on Day 5 in the 5th Test at The Oval. Shubman Gill was the standout performer with the bat for India on the English soil. Lee stated that the added responsibility of captaincy bought out the best out of Shubman Gill the batter.
He opined that Shubman Gill is a person who thrives on responsibility Commenting on the batters tremndous run of form in the Anderson Tendulkar Trophy 2025, Brett Lee added :
“I think the captaincy is a perfect foil for his style of cricket. The captaincy works for him as a player. There are some captains that when they get the opportunity, don’t score runs or take wickets, but Shubman Gill, I reckon, he loves it. All the people didn’t think that the captaincy would suit Shubman Gill, but I can promise you, it does.”
Reckoning tahat through his performance, Shubman Gill earned the respect of the Indian team dressing room , Brett Lee remarked :
“What it does for the players around him, the respect level goes through the roof. When you have a leader, a captain, scoring runs or taking wickets, leading from the front, (benefits the team). Any captain can get up as a leader and say, ‘This is how we do it, this is what we want to achieve. Blah blah blah.’
“That’s all well and good, and you’re going to give a great speech, but if you can’t deliver on the field, then talk is cheap. However, Shubman Gill has proven that he’s got the chat; he’s also got the swagger and runs to back it up,” he added.
Shubman Gill scored 754 runs in 10 innings at an average of 75.40 on the English soil. He became the first player to score 4 centuries on his debut as a captain. Brett Lee advised Shubman Gill to continue backing the same approach. He opined that the talented batter should focus on leading from the front and supporting his players. The legendary pacer emphasized that it will be importnant for Shubman Gill to manage feisty characters like Mohammed Siraj. Lee concluded the video stating that :
“My advice for Shubman Gill is don’t change, just keep scoring runs, and keep being the aggressor on the field from a batting point of view, but also from a leadership point of view. He has got players around him that love to have a crack. When you think about Mohammed Siraj, you need a good captain that manages his fast bowlers.”
In Red ball cricket, Indian team will next open the home season with a two match home -series with West Indies. The opening encounter will be played at Narendra Modi stadium at Ahemedabad From October 2-October 6.
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