'If Virat Kohli batted instead of Shubman Gill, he would've slammed a century': India captain told to avoid aggression

Shubman Gill's tentative approach at Lord's drew criticism from former cricketers. Unlike Virat Kohli, who thrived on aggression, Gill struggled under pressure.

Whenever Virat Kohli's name has come up during the India vs England Test series, it has not always been because of his batting. The way he used to carry himself in the field, look the opposition in the eye, gear up the crowd and motivate the bowlers and fielders, has been equally (if not more) talked about during various stages of the Test match, especially when India haven't done well. And mind you, there haven't been a lot of sessions in this series where India didn't do well.

India's Shubman Gill (R) and Virat Kohli (AFP)

Noted former cricketers like Ravi Shastri and Nasser Hussain said India's new captain, Shubman Gill, despite all his success with the bat, lacked the aggression and the attitude when India couldn't bowl England out on Day 5 at Headingley. The hosts chased down 371 to take a 1-0 lead. And when Gill did try to take the aggressive route, by getting into an ugly feud with England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett right at the end of Day 3 at Lord's, it backfired.

It not only fired up England, in former fast bowler Stuart Broad, in a way he had never seen, but also put unnecessary pressure on Gill when he came out to bat late on Day 4. The England fielders hounded the Indian captain, who, despite being the highest scorer of this series with three centuries, including a record-breaking 269, looked tentative and out of sorts.

Gill missed a full toss at the start of his innings and was eventually dismissed for a 9-ball 6. Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar warned Shubman Gill not to get caught in the brand-building exercise based on an image that doesn't suit him naturally.

"If somebody wants to build a brand by saying, we are Indians, we are not less than anyone. That (The thought process) gets a lot of attention and mileage. I hope Shubman Gill wasn't doing it for that," Manjrekar said on JioHotstar.

‘Aggression doesn’t come naturally to Shubman Gill like it did to Virat Kohli'

Manjrekar added that Virat Kohli loved to pick up a fight with the opposition because that got the best out of him. He believed that Kohli would have slammed a century at Lord's in the second innings if he had come out to bat at that stage. But Gill, instead looked very timid and unnatural during his stay in the middle.

"What Virat Kohli did was second nature to him. His cricket and batting used to get enhanced by that. Shubman Gill, I'm not sure whether this (aggression) comes naturally to him. If Virat Kohli had come out to bat, he would have looked into the face of those people and got a hundred. But if you looked at Shubman Gill's body language, the man who has almost batted like Bradman, was so tentative. The way he batted in those 9 balls seemed like he had gotten a pair. That is a clear message to me that aggression may not be his natural demeanour or approach," he added.

Gill's fight with Crawley had a long-lasting impact on the third Test. England came out firing with the ball and gave a hard time to India's top order. England captain Ben Stokes bowled two marathon spells, and Jofra Archer dished out telling blows on Day 5. Despite a late fight from Ravindra Jadeja and the tail, India fell short of the 193-run target by 22 runs.