It was baptism of fire for Gill in his first Test as skipper since succeeding the now-retired Rohit Sharma, and Hussain said the youngster was “reactive rather than proactive” as a leader.
“I saw someone finding his way. He (Gill) didn’t quite have that on-field aura of Rohit and (Virat Kohli). I thought he followed the ball a lot and was reactive rather than proactive,” Hussain said on Sky Sports.
“When Rohit and Kohli captained, you looked down and you immediately knew who was in charge but when I looked down in this game I saw two or three captains, captaincy by committee,” Hussain said, alluding to Gill not taking complete control of the team.
Hussain, however, said India lost the match because of two things Gill couldn’t control — drop catches and batting collapses.
“The collapses concern me. In India they have had spin-bowling all-rounders that are magnificent – Ravi Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel – but in England they are still looking for a seam-bowling all-rounder who can bat.
“If they keep going 6-31 and 7-41 this could be a quick series,” said the 57-year-old who played 96 Tests between 1990 and 2004.
Former India coach Ravi Shastri, however, feels that Gill has done “more than can be asked of him.” “There is a big role for the coaching staff to take the positives. As a captain, Gill has done more than can be asked of him.
“He got a hundred in his first Test in charge and the dropped catches (and collapses) are not in his control.” Gill scored 147 in India’s first innings total of 471 and 8 in the second essay.
“This will be a tough pill for India to swallow. You don’t get in positions like this very often and blow it from there. They had a chance to take England out of the contest and dictate terms.
“They have to learn and they need more bottle from the tail, for them to be stubborn and put a price tag on their wicket,” added Shastri.
The former India all-rounder also said that strike bowler Jasprit Bumrah should play in the second Test starting on July 2 in Birmingham.
“If he was looking at a rest you may have to think twice. If you don’t have him and then go 2-0 down it could be an uphill task.” Bumrah, who took five wickets in England’s first innings, only plans to play three of the five Tests in order to manage his workload after a recent back injury.
Former England fast bowler Stuart Broad also felt that India had opportunities to win the Test but wasted them.
“It’s a wonderful feeling when you win a Test match like that, when in reality India had so many opportunities to put this game to bed.
“But England just scrapped and fought hard … It was a sensational run chase. Duckett was absolutely outstanding. It’s just incredible how this team keeps doing this.” PTI PDS PDS AH AH
