“We should give him a fair chance” - Mohammad Azharuddin defends Shubman Gill after Leeds Test defeat

Former Indian captain and cricketing analyst Mohammad Azharuddin has defended the new Indian Test skipper Shubman Gill. Notably, Gill has been constantly receiving heat for his poor captaincy skills from former cricketers.

Despite Indian batters scoring five centuries in the Leeds Test, Indian bowlers couldn’t replicate their second innings heroics in the fourth innings as England comfortably chased down the 371-run target on the fifth day of the Test.

Azharuddin asserted that it would be too early to talk about Gill’s captaincy, and he should be given a fair chance in terms of time and support in the five-match Test series before passing comments directly against him or on his captaincy skills.

“This is his just first match as a captain, you just can’t talk about captaincy. It’s too early to talk about captaincy. We should give him a fair chance and he has just taken over. So, you should give him a lot of time and support. We cannot just complain and criticise players like that,” Azharuddin said as quoted by India Today.

Furthermore, Azharuddin stated that the Indian management needs to make proper team selection, and the Indian fielders need to be on their toes to make it big on the field in the four upcoming Tests.

Also, Azharuddin added that the Indian team has been too dependent on Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. It’s important to note that the Indian seamer pocketed a fifer in the first innings of the Leeds Test, but couldn’t replicate it in the second innings as he went wicketless.

“We lost because of batting collapse, but anyways now they have to pick the right players and bowling has to be perfect. They are too much dependent on Bumrah. It’s not easy because you need more experienced bowlers, and they should play Kuldeep Yadav,” he added.

Team India will take on England in the second Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham, starting on Wednesday, July 2.

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