Shubman Gill's aggressive antics on Day 3 of the third Test against England at Lord's has become a major talking point. The Indian skipper confronted Zak Crawley towards the end of the day as he felt that the English opener was wasting time to avoid facing more overs.
What caught everyone by surprise was the fact that Gill, known for his calm and composed nature, went at Crawley with hard expletives and obscene gestures.
While some saw shades of Virat Kohli in Gill’s demeanour, many accused him of copying the former Indian captain.
Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary also joined the bandwagon of analysts who claimed that Gill tried to emulate Kohli's leadership template by showing aggression on the field.
"I don't like the way captain Gill is going about things. I think he is trying to copy what Virat did last time. And as a result, it is not helping his batting," Tiwary told SportsBoom.
Tiwary further mentioned that since taking over as IPL captain, Shubman Gill seems to have adopted a more aggressive approach, often seen engaging in animated exchanges with match officials.
He cited the example of Gujarat Titans captain’s on-field behaviour during a match against Sunrisers Hyderabad to back his claim.
"Ever since he became a captain in the IPL, I have noticed that he is getting into an aggressive mindset, and having animated chats with umpires," Tiwary stated.
“It was unlike Gill. He doesn't need to show that kind of aggression, and doesn't have to prove anything,” he added.
Tiwary suggested Gill to stick to his style and not get into verbal duels with the opposition or match officials.
“He can stick to his style of being aggressive. It doesn't mean that you have to always give it back verbally. Aggression can also be shown by winning Test matches. India could have easily led the series 2-1. Such aggression is not good for the game, especially from the captain of the Indian cricket team,” the former Bengal captain remarked.
Manoj Tiwary wasn’t one bit impressed with the language Shubman Gill used after getting irked by Zak Crawley's time-wasting tactics at Lord’s.
"I am not happy with the language and words that are coming in the audio when they are near the stumps. You are representing the Indian cricket team. I think this has become a trend, as previous captains have probably used such words to express their anger, but this needs to be controlled. If you use slang, the next generation will pick it up," Tiwary said.
Shubman Gill has been in sublime form with the bat this series, slamming a century at Headingley and following it up with a record-breaking ton and a double hundred in the second Test at Edgbaston, which India won by 336 runs.
However, Gill made just 16 and 6 in the third Test at Lord's, where suffered a narrow 22-run defeat despite Ravindra Jadeja’s heroics with the bat.
India were bowled out for 170 while chasing 193 at Lord’s, thereby conceding 1-2 lead to England in the five-match series. The penultimate Test is slated to begin on July 23 at Old Trafford, Manchester.
