Hussain also blasted Ravindra Jadeja's performance and talked about dropped catches.
In his analysis of India's defeat in the Leeds Test match, former England captain Nasser Hussain concurred with Ravi Shastri's on-air remarks regarding Shubman Gill's leadership and India's requirement for an all-round seam bowler.
The team's slip catching and lower-order batting collapses during the match that saw England win by five wickets were also cited by Hussain, who also emphasized how Gill's leadership style was different from that of his predecessors Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Following Rohit's retirement, Gill made his debut as captain in the Leeds Test, when England defeated India by chasing down 371 runs, their second-highest chase at home.
Hussain observed that Gill's captaincy appeared to be in its early stages, lacking the commanding presence of his predecessors.
"I thought I saw someone who was finding his way to be honest. You've got to be very careful, first Test match, the people he's taken over from, (Virat) Kohli and then Rohit Sharma, I thought he didn't quite have that on-field aura as the names I have mentioned there. You look down on those two previous names, and you immediately see who was in charge of India,” Hussain said on Sky Cricket.
Hussain argued that by dictating the terms and forcing his style of play, Gill had not yet demonstrated his leadership abilities.
"It is only natural that Gill turned to his seniors, considering their experience in the format. Both KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant have been with the side for a long period, and it is fair to say they know what to expect, especially when playing away from home,” Hussain said.
But Hussain did not think it helped the captain in bringing out his brand of cricket from the team.
“There were a lot of captains, it was a bit of captaincy by committee, which can happen in your early days as a leader because your senior players like Rishabh Pant or KL Rahul want to help you out as much as possible,” he shared.
Gill's lack of initiative in setting the rules of play was another major critique of his captaincy. For the most part, Gill appeared to be riding the wave rather than creating his own waves, according to Hussain.
On Day 5, when the spinner failed to make good use of the rough parts on the field, Hussain was surprised that neither Gill nor the other senior players questioned Ravindra Jadeja's bowling approach.
“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. Ravi Shastri and Mark Butcher are up there, going, show us where that ball is pitching, and it was pitching nowhere near the rough. Ravi was saying, a bit slow, a bit wide, bowl in 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?’ But Ravi’s right, they lost the game for two things that he couldn’t control," Hussain said.
Hussain also addressed India's ongoing search for a seam-bowling all-rounder, comparing the situation to the team's 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. 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.
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,” Hussain signed off.