IND vs ENG: Shubman Gill told to ‘fix attitude’ just one game after his Test captaincy debut

Just one match into India’s Test captaincy and Shubman Gill is told to adjust his attitude for the team’s betterment. Gill-led India lost the series opener against England at Headingley in Leeds despite having hit five centuries across two innings in the game – an Indian Test cricket record. Although Jasprit Bumrah was fantastic in the first innings, picking his record-breaking 12th away five-wicket haul in Tests, none of his fellow bowlers were able to make an impact, resulting in India failing to defend 371 on the final day. However, the bigger issue was fielding, with India dropping more than six catches, four of which slipped through Yashasvi Jaiswal’s hands.

Brad Haddin, former Australian keeper and Ashes winner, put the onus on Gill to fix it altogether, claiming that for Gill’s India to become a great Test team, they must get better at taking catches because they win matches. Urging Gill to bring that attitude adjustment to his captaincy and, with that, injecting it into his teammates, Haddin said,

"Every great team, no matter what year you're playing, the one standout feature they've always had, is that they've been a great fielding team. And I think that is one legacy Gill has start to leave now on this team. He needs an attitude adjustment," Haddin said while speaking on the Willow Talk podcast.

"If you want to field well and compete the whole time, it's only attitude. You can do all your technical work off the field and have as many coaches as anyone, but it won't matter. Even in the IPL this year, the catching was horrible. And that could be a byproduct," he continued.

However, batting prowess overshadowed Team India’s poor fielding in Leeds. While Gill was among the four centurions on the line-up, including Rishabh Pant, who hit two across both innings, he looked helpless looking around after a dropped catch.

Jaiswal, who also hit his maiden Test hundred in England, was in the good books but only until the stumps on day one. Afterwards, he dropped four catches, resulting in all those batters making most of their chances and hurting India.

With India already trailing (0-1) in the five-match Test series, worrying about its fielding on the other hand, the second Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham would provide them with a shot at redemption. The second Test begins next Wednesday (Jul 2).