Nasser Hussain delivered his verdict on Shubman Gill’s captaincy following India’s five-wicket defeat in the Leeds Test.
Nasser Hussain Questions Gill’s Captaincy and India’s Tactical Misses in Leeds Loss
Nasser Hussain echoed Ravi Shastri’s sharp on-air critique while breaking down India’s five-wicket loss in the Leeds Test, which saw England chase down 371 with ease. The former England captain didn’t hold back in assessing Shubman Gill’s leadership in his debut Test as captain, suggesting Gill lacked the commanding presence of his predecessors, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
“I thought I saw someone just finding his way,” Nasser Hussain said on Sky Cricket, pointing to Gill’s indecisiveness and reactive field placements. “When you looked down at Kohli or Rohit, it was clear who was in charge. With Gill, it felt like captaincy by committee, with senior players like Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul trying to help out. He followed the ball a lot, rather than leading with intent.”
Nasser Hussain also reignited the ‘Hardik Pandya’ debate, noting India’s imbalance and lack of a genuine all-rounder, which hurt their chances once again. However, his most pointed criticism focused on the handling of Ravindra Jadeja.
He highlighted that Jadeja repeatedly failed to bowl into the rough patches outside the right-hander’s off-stump, despite ideal Day 5 conditions at Headingley. “I was surprised no senior player or Gill himself had a word with Jadeja about targeting the rough,” Hussain said. “Ravi Shastri and Mark Butcher were up there in commentary asking, ‘Where is the ball pitching?’ and it wasn’t even close to the rough. Ravi kept saying—too slow, too wide—bowl into the rough!”
‘India need a Hardik Pandya’
As Nasser Hussain delved deeper into India’s defeat in the first Test at Leeds, he reignited familiar concerns about the team’s long-standing void—a quality seam-bowling all-rounder like Hardik Pandya. India’s lower-order collapses in both innings, despite registering five centuries in the match, highlighted the absence of balance, ultimately contributing to the five-wicket loss.
The management had experimented with Nitish Reddy in Australia and turned to Shardul Thakur at Leeds, but neither provided the stability or impact expected in that crucial role.
“The slip cordon and the catching were poor—something India had done well over the last few years—but it was the collapses that really hurt,” Hussain noted on Sky Cricket. “India’s lower order has long been filled with excellent spin-bowling all-rounders—Ashwin, Jadeja, Axar Patel. But in England, they still haven’t found that seam-bowling all-rounder.”
Drawing parallels to past greats, Hussain said, “Someone like Hardik Pandya, or going further back, Kapil Dev—they’ve always had that figure. Right now, that’s missing. If collapses like seven for 41 or six for 30 continue, this could be a quick series. They need to extend the batting down the order.”
Hussain’s remarks echo Ravi Shastri’s own concerns, reinforcing the growing urgency for India to find the right balance before the series slips further out of reach.
