Gautam Gambhir takes the bullet for Shubman Gill's blunder, Washington Sundar proves why India captain was indeed wrong

Washington Sundar immediately proved why Shubman Gill ignoring him was the wrong decision. Gautam Gambhir took the blame for the captain's 'bizarre' move.

For the second time in two days, the Indian bowlers have endured a wicketless session as England's batters continued to feast on Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and debutant Anshul Kamboj. After Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett took England's total to 77/0 at tea in 14 overs on Day 2, Joe Root and Ollie Pope shepherded the innings to 332/2, mounting the pressure all the more on India. Shubman Gill came under plenty of scrutiny for his captaincy, but none more for keeping the ball away from Washington Sundar. Yes, the India all-rounder, the only other spinner in the team after Ravindra Jadeja, did not bowl for… wait for it… 68 overs, only adding to India's woes.

From left: Gautam Gambhir, Shubman Gill and Washington Sundar (AFP Images)

It was almost as if Gill was reluctant to turn to his spinners. While Jadeja handled things at one end, he too was given shorter spells with the pacers doing the bulk of the heavy lifting. Gill's apprehension towards Sundar was hard to understand, since it was only in the last game at Lord's that Sundar picked up 4/22 in England's second innings. And with none of the other succeeding in breaking the partnership, with each over that Sundar was ignored, eyebrows were raised at Sundar.

Sanjay Manjrekar, however, blamed Gautam Gambhir instead of Gill, strongly suggesting that the head coach should have been a lot more proactive and had a say in the matter. Gill is still just entering his third Test as captain and will make mistakes, hoping to learn from them. But Gambhir, being a seasoned veteran, not making things happen, surprised Manjrekar.

Sanjay Manjrekar doesn't hold back

"Sorry, but even I don’t have the answer to that question. Not that I have been racking my brain as to why. The pure spinner. We are not 65 overs into the innings. What is the logic, and what is he in there for? If you needed any assurance, he picked up 4 wickets in the last match. This is a bizarre move, a move which is obviously not made. And I hold Gautam Gambhir responsible for it. And it’s not just the captain. He is obviously a young captain so he’s got that excuse and you’ve got to be forgiving of Shubman Gill. Surely the coach should have a say," he said while on commentary.

With 15 minutes left for the lunch interval on Day 3, the wait finally ended, with finally being given the ball. And right into the second session, he proved his captain wrong by first dismissing Ollie Pope and then getting Harry Brook out stumped to pick up two wickets in quick succession. Sundar sent down a delivery that didn't turn, which Pope nicked to first slip, where KL Rahul grabbed a sharp low catch.

Watch Sundar's wickets below:

He then foxed Brook just by tempting him to come outside his crease and beating the batter's defence for Dhruv Jurel to do the rest. Two wickets in three overs, Sundar showed once again why he can't be ignored.