Shubman Gill's Captaincy Lacks Kohli, Sharma's Aura, Shows "Reactive" Approach: Hussain Analyzes India's Test Defeat

Former England captain Nasser Hussain has weighed in on India's recent Test match defeat in Leeds, echoing Ravi Shastri's concerns about Shubman Gill's captaincy and India's ongoing need for a seam-bowling all-rounder. Hussain noted the differences between Gill's leadership approach and those of his predecessors, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. He also pointed to issues with slip catching and lower-order batting collapses that contributed to England's victory.

Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill are key players in the Indian Test team's leadership.

Gill's debut as captain in the Leeds Test followed Rohit Sharma's retirement. England successfully chased down a target of 371 runs, marking their second-highest chase at home against India.

Hussain observed that Gill's captaincy seemed tentative, lacking the assertive presence of Kohli and Sharma.

"I thought I saw someone just finding his way, honestly," Hussain stated. "You've got to be very careful in the first Test match, the people he's taken over from, Kohli, and then Rohit Sharma. I thought he didn't quite have that on-field aura as the names I mentioned there."

Hussain further elaborated on what he observed from his vantage point: "You look down on those two previous names, and you immediately see who was in charge of India. I looked down from the press box, the commentary position, there were a lot of captains; it was a bit captaincy by committee, which can happen in your early days as a leader because you still [have] senior players like Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul [who] want to try and help you out as much as possible. I thought he followed the ball a lot. I thought he was reactive as opposed to proactive."

Hussain was also surprised that neither Gill nor other senior players intervened in Ravindra Jadeja's bowling strategy on Day 5. Jadeja, according to Hussain, failed to effectively exploit the rough patches on the pitch.

"A word with Jadeja, maybe as a young captain, to go to such an experienced spinner, and go, you do know the rough is out there," Hussain suggested. He referenced Ravi Shastri and Mark Butcher's observations, noting that Jadeja's deliveries were not landing near the rough. "I was surprised that not one of the senior players or captains went to Jadeja and said, 'Can we go a little bit wider.'"

Hussain also addressed India's continued quest for a seam-bowling all-rounder, drawing comparisons to past players.

"The slip cordon and the catching were poor, something that India have done well in the last two or three years and the collapses," Hussain pointed out. "And that concerns me because India has a lower order with spin bowling all-rounders and has had for the last decade, which are magnificent. Ashwin, Jadeja, Axar Patel. In England, they are still looking, I think, for that seam bowling all-rounder, you know, someone like a Hardik Pandya, going back to Ravi's times, Kapil Dev or whatever, they are still looking for that lower-order bowler who can bat."

He concluded by emphasizing the importance of solidifying the lower order: "And if they keep going for, what, seven for 41 and six for 30 or whatever, then this could be a quick series. They need to run down the order."

India's experiments with Nitish Reddy in Australia and Shardul Thakur in Leeds have yet to yield the desired balance in the lower order, a fact highlighted by batting collapses despite the team achieving five centuries during the match.