On the eve of the fourth Test match of the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, Shubman Gill had questioned England’s “spirit of the game” after their opener came late to the crease on Day 3 of the Lord’s Test. “Yes, a lot of people have been talking about it, so let me just clear the air, once and for all. The English batsmen on that day had seven minutes of play left; they were 90 seconds late to come to the crease — not 10, not 20 — 90 seconds late,” Gill had said. “Yes, most teams use this (delaying tactic); even if we were in a similar position, we would have also liked to play fewer overs. But there is a manner to do it, and we felt that if you get hit on your body, the physios are allowed to come on, and that is something that is fair. “But to be able to come 90 seconds late to the crease is not something that I would think comes under the spirit of the game,” he added.
On the opening day of the fourth Test match, while doing commentary, former England captain Nasser Hussain questioned Gill for his comments in the press conference, saying India would look to do a similar thing today and not want to face extra overs. Hussain was referring to India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja asking the on-field umpire about the lights.
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Dinesh Karthik immediately corrected Hussain without wasting any time and said: “Gill said his issue was with England walking out after 90 seconds, not what they did during the over.” Dinesh Karthik also said he is loving Shubman Gill’s approach to captaining India in the ongoing Test series against England and added that it’s fine to be feisty in order to establish a distinct identity as the side’s skipper. “I’ve really enjoyed him as a captain so far. On the field, I think he’s improving, but off the field is where I’ve been most impressed. I think yesterday’s press conference was absolutely box office — apparently, it just went quiet until the last question was asked about why things have gotten a bit spicy, and he said, ‘Look, England went 90 seconds late and we don’t appreciate that,’ and I like it.” “It’s good to be feisty. You need to have an identity as a captain, and Shubman Gill from that third day at Lord’s has actually shown that he’s got a lot more aggression inside him — and that’s how he wants to lead this Indian team. Yes, the result didn’t go his way, but the point is, it’s made for a thrilling Test series so far, and his captaincy is right at the forefront of it, backed by his batting skills as well,” said Karthik on Sky Sports’ broadcast.
