Shubman Gill broke a plethora of records in his second Test as the Indian captain against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

With India emerging victorious by 336 runs, Gill became only the Asian captain to win a Test match at Edgbaston. He produced knocks of 269 and 161 across the two innings, thereby amassing 430 runs to have the second-highest aggregate in Test behind England legend Graham Gooch’s 456 against India in 1990.

Impressed with his exploits, former Australian skipper Michael Clarke showered rich praise on Shubman Gill, saying that this is the best way to earn respect as a captain.

“I know the wickets have been good for batting, a little bit slow in regards to pace but he’s looked comfortable in every position, Front foot, back foot, defense, attack, he dominates spin always. So, I have been like everyone, super impressed by the way he has walked out and batted in England conditions. I think as a captain. That’s probably the most important thing you can do. If you are a bowler, take wickets. If you are a batsman, score runs. That’s the best way to earn respect,” Clarke said while speaking on Beyond23 Cricket Podcast.

During the Edgbaston Test, Gill broke record for most runs in debut series as India captain, surpassing Virat Kohli who had amassed 449 runs against Australia in 2014/15 when he took over the charge from MS Dhoni.

Gill has already aggregated 585 runs in just two matches of the ongoing series. He stands just 18 runs short of becoming the most prolific Indian batter on the tour of England, with Rahul Dravid leading the chart, having scored 602 runs in the 2002 series.

Clarke was particularly impressed with Gill’s defense, but he suggested how bowlers can utilise short ball ploy against the Indian captain.

“I have been really impressed with his defense. I think that’s the one area it looks like he has worked extremely hard on. The other thing you can see is he is watching the ball so closely. I thought with someone like Shubman in Test cricket, you could really utilize the short ball. Just to get him pushed back off the crease. What I mean is that a good fast bouncer or a couple of bouncers even with some catches on whether he takes on the pull shot or a bat pad. And then I thought the ball you would get him out on though would be that front foot length because he is sitting back waiting for the short ball,” Clarke remarked.

Michael Clarke also lauded Shubman Gill’s proactive bowling changes on the last day of the Birmingham Test.

“Tactically, I think he was brilliant in the second test match. Particularly again you have got 600 runs on the board. So that obviously helps. But I think in the second innings at Edgbaston, the way he brought spinners into the attack. Even Jadeja early on in the test match Washington Sundar gets that big wicket of Ben Stokes just before lunch. I think he used his spinners well. I think he attacked in the right areas. I think he gave the bowlers protection where they needed it to allow them to bowl the ball for that wicket taking ball. A lot of people could have a third slip before lunch. But I think he felt with his bowlers, if I give them a cover, in the bowlers’ mind they now know they can pitch the ball up and look to get the batsman’s drive and that gave the bowler confidence. I think he read his bowlers really well,” Clarke added.

With Jasprit Bumrah certain to return for the third Test, Clarke shared his views on how wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav can claim a spot in the team.

“Now looking at the spin, I know Jadeja and Washington Sundar did a great job with the bat particularly. Yes, they picked up a wicket each in the second innings, but I am still asking the question. Are they a better team in regards to taking 20 wickets with Kuldeep Yadav in it? And again, that’s just a personal opinion of mine. I just think Kuldeep is ready to be playing in that Test team. I think he has that X factor. And I thought he might have got an opportunity in this second Test match. At the end of the day, India is winning. So whatever 11 they went with, it’s worked and it’s taken them a lot of courage,” Clarke opined.