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ENG vs IND, 2nd Test: Yashasvi Jaiswal praised captain Shubman Gill, who scored a dogged hundred off 199 balls. It was his back-to-back centuries for the Indian skipper, having scored one on his Test captaincy debut in Leeds.
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Indian Express
14 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Shubman Gill the captain: Not remote controlled but leading in his own way
On the final day of the second Test, when Shubman Gill ambled onto the field after the rain-delayed late lunch, India were four wickets away from their first-ever win at Edgbaston and a 1-1 series scoreline. There was heavy cloud cover and there was talk that rains had reached the city's outskirts. After a few overs, 12th man Arshdeep Singh came sprinting onto the field. Was he carrying a message for the captain? No, it was just a warm jumper for Shubman as it was getting chilly. It was a cute moment that somewhat captured the captain-coach dynamics in Indian cricket's new era. When Shubman showed the spark as the Gujarat Titans captain in IPL, there was the perennial presence of coach Ashish Nehra on the sidelines. It created doubts about who was calling the shots or making the crucial call. Here in England, the early indications show that the 25-year-old captain has a mind of his own. And the only remote control in the dressing room is the one that commands the television. As for the coach Gautam Gambhir, he hasn't been over-interfering in the proceedings on the field. For long periods of stand-offs where wickets have been hard to come by, the captain has been changing fields, bowlers and tactics without any obvious prompt from the dressing room. When Shubman is batting, the substitutes haven't randomly run on the field with gloves or when the team is fielding, carrying unasked for water bottles. Captain Gill speaks. The statement win speaks louder. 🎙 A proud Shubman Gill reflects on a historic comeback, his first win as Test captain, and Team India's hunger to go all the way. 💪🏽#ENGvIND 👉 3rd TEST, THU, JULY 10, 2:30 PM onwards on JioHotstar — Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 6, 2025 Shubman does his thing, the way he likes. He does have counsel available on the field. Vice-captain Pant, seniors KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, and even Mohammed Siraj, too chip in – when asked for and even offer unsolicited advice. As the pundits from the commentators box, especially while assessing the new captain during the first Test have said 'Shubman is running the team by committee'. So if someone fumbles on field, Pant can be heard saying 'kya yaar'. In the first Test, when a disappointed Bumrah was walking back after yet another brilliant over in which a catch was dropped, the wicket-keeper would walk with him almost till the boundary line. Team's veteran spinner Jadeja would be seen explaining the pivot to Washington Sundar as the two would be walking to the central square after lunch break. And Siraj, while pointing to the mini-crater on the bowling crease, would be heard telling Akash Deep 'isko dimag se nikal de, ab hai toh hai, kya kar satke hain. (Just wipe this thing out of your mind, if it's there, what can one do?)'. The young captain individually, and the new team collectively, are negotiating the uncharted terrain they all find themselves on. And credit to the coaches – Gautam Gambhir and Morne Morkel along with the chairman of the selection committee Ajit Agarkar who haven't tried to micro-manage the team. It's being said that it was the captain who had a big say in the team selection – keeping Kuldeep Yadav out for an all-rounder wasn't a decision forced on the captain. It was his call. In the first Test at Headingley, the team's only pace all-rounder Shardul Thakur was introduced in the attack pretty late. This despite the fact that others weren't getting wickets. Coach Gambhir would later say that it was the captain's call and he didn't mind it. In the first inning of the second Test, Shubman, for a brief while, stuck to a very rigid 'leg-side heavy field, short-ball' ploy when Harry Brook and Jamie Smith were at the start of their partnership. It didn't work, actually it helped them settle and score freely. India's first-ever Test win at Edgbaston ✅ First Asian team to win a Test at Edgbaston ✅ First Test win for Shubman Gill as captain ✅#TeamIndia defeated #England by 336 runs at Edgbaston in a dominant display of Test cricket brilliance. 🤩 Watch the post-presentation LIVE… — Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 6, 2025 Bowling coach, the former South African pacer Morne Morkel, hinted that he wasn't on the same page as the captain. 'I thought we moved slightly away from our plans in the first innings, and in a way also with runs on the board you want to take a couple of more risks … For me personally on this sort of surface, you want to set a field where you can still have both options: using the short ball and try to nick a guy off,' he would say. But he did appreciate his captain's thought to find his own solution to the problem at hand. 'Credit to Shubman, he took a gamble for a couple of overs to potentially get a wicket.' After getting his Man of the Match award for his aggregate of 430 runs in the second Test, Shubman spoke about his captaincy philosophy. Before the second Test, he had blamed his own casual dismissal after scoring 147 as the reason for the team's loss in the first Test. 'I should have scored more, a longer partnership with Pant would have made a difference,' he had said. In the very next Test, Shubman didn't leave it for others. He stayed around to take the team to the total he wanted. He had his reasons to lead by example. 'Sometimes, especially when you are the captain, I think you need to lead by example so that whenever there is another player in that situation, you can command that player,' he said. This was a captain subtly asserting himself, this was a skipper earning the right to be the 'commander'. Former England captain Nasser Hussain, who had noted during the first Test that Gill 'lacked aura' would reassess his verdict at the end of second Test: 'He (Gill) is not going to be a Kohli-type character. He's got a low heartbeat, but that can help. Look at this crowd here today. Look at all of India watching on. You may need someone just to calm the team.' While he has just led in two Tests, in IPL there are those who have seen him closely for the entire season. Former England captain, the seasoned Jos Butler is seen as the voice of reason. In a recent podcast he was asked to comment on the young man he played under. 'He was my captain at Gujarat Titans, a really impressive player, an impressive young man. I think pretty calm and measured when he speaks. I think he's got a bit of firepower, a bit of intensity, quite passionate … He will do well and have some good people supporting him,' he said. Butler also said Shubman's captaincy was a mix of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli – a quote that got picked by reel makers and went viral. But Shubman, it seems, is a mix of Shubman and Shubman.
India Today
20 minutes ago
- India Today
Sourav Ganguly: Captaincy is tough, I went grey because of it
(NOTE: This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated December 2, 2002)It should give the old codgers a coronary. Sourav Ganguly leads India in the Test series against New Zealand this month just one Test victory short of equalling Mohammed Azharuddin's record as the most successful Indian captain. Ganguly took over in mid-2000 during a difficult period post-match fixing and has led India in 30 Tests with 13 wins, 8 losses and 9 draws to Azhar's 14 wins, 14 defeats and 19 draws from 47 Tests. In one-dayers, Ganguly has 43 wins from 82 matches, while Azhar had 89 from 173. The controversial and confrontational left hander from Bengal tells Associate Editor Sharda Ugra about the pains and pleasures of the toughest job in Indian sport. Q. In four of their last five away series, the Indians have gone into the final Test with a chance to win but haven't. Will New Zealand be different?A. It's my one aim, my dream to win a series overseas. We have come close so many times now - the talk of 16 years and no away series wins goes on and it can be irritating, but cricket's not about talk, not about ifs and buts. Until we do it, such talk will remain. New Zealand will be a tough side at home. But my team has a lot of talent. I haven't been part of an Indian team that has so much talent and I'm being frank here. Q. You're one short of Mohammed Azharuddin's record of most Test wins by an Indian captain. When did the possibility of breaking that record strike you?A. When I started, I didn't know whether I would survive as captain. You don't start a career thinking about statistics, but now when you're close to a record like this, you feel good. But every win is a team effort. You feel good because the players you have backed through thick and thin have delivered the goods. It's a very satisfying feeling. Q. India may have had a good year. But where are we in relation to Australia? What would happen if we toured Australia for a Test and one-day series now?A. Australia are still the No. 1 Test team. In one-day cricket we are at par with the best team in the world, which is still Australia. Australia are formidable, but I think we have played well in all conditions recently, in England, West Indies, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. Last year we had a lot of injuries that hampered our campaigns abroad. Q. But where is your team in the rankings at the moment?A. I don't believe in rankings. Sometimes the rankings surprise me. I don't think it's fair to judge a team on the basis of rankings. This year we've lost one series in the West Indies and a one-day series at home, but other than that we've won everything and we drew the Test series in England. Q. How would you say your captaincy has changed?A. It is a job you grow into. Any captain will take some time to settle down. Nobody is an outstanding leader straightaway. When I became captain, we had a very young team. It was a bit difficult to get them to combine but we managed to do that by retaining the same team for a certain span of time. I'm a much better captain now I think, more mature, I hope. I analyse situations much better. Fatherhood has changed me; I've become more patient. When you get back home and see your daughter smile, you forget whether you had a good day or a bad day. Q. What's been the trademark of your captaincy?A. More than winning Tests and winning overseas, I feel that every player in this team believes injustice won't be done to him. Which I think is a huge thing in a dressing room. Q. Knowing Indian cricket from the inside, did you think you could change things when you took over?A. Definitely. I believed I could. At this level you have to feel you can make things happen. I got a lot of confidence when I led the team in the ICC Trophy in Kenya. The way we played made me feel I could turn things around with this side. When I led in Toronto in 1999 we didn't have Sachin Tendulkar, Ajay Jadeja, Javagal Srinath, Azhar and Anil Kumble, yet we still beat a full-strength West Indies that had Courtney Walsh, Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Q. You're considered a seamer-friendly rather than a spinner-friendly captain, which is not common among Indians.A. No, not really. It depends on the surface. This year in England we played two spinners for the most part of the series. Except at Lord's, where I thought I made a mistake by playing only one spinner. I didn't expect the wicket to turn so much. It's only in the West Indies that I played one spinner - the wickets were not helpful and they had good players of spin bowling. Q. Indian captains aren't known to be as emotional or demonstrative either.A. There have been many times when emotion has got the better of me ... like after we won the NatWest Trophy final. But it is easier when your side plays well - it's always the case with captaincy. Look at Steve Waugh. I'm not saying his job is easy but obviously he has a much easier time than other captains because he has such a fantastic side. This year all our batsmen have scored runs when the team was in trouble. It has made things easier for me and allowed me to be more settled. Q. What's the worst part of the job?A. It's a tough job. I've gone grey because of it - I think so anyway. It's tension, hard work. Captaincy is extra pressure on top of what you have as a player. The best part is the honour of being the man who leads the Indian team. The worst is when you don't do well, then you just have to cop it. Q. How do you cop it if you think the criticism is unfair?A. To people I know, I ask, 'Why are you making things difficult?' I do. A lot of times I've felt - and I may be wrong - that criticism is based on personal likes and dislikes, which is unfair. But that goes with the job and you have got to get used to it. I have always thought that when I walk out on the field leading India, I will give my best. I don't want to come off the field thinking I could have given a bit more. Obviously, I make mistakes, everybody does, no captain is perfect. I think I'm mentally tough, otherwise I would have never survived seven years in Test cricket and I intend to survive a bit longer. Q. Knowing what you know now, what do you tell your players who are struggling?A. Last year when I was not getting runs, Rahul Dravid told me, 'You're one evening away from greatness'. That line has had a huge effect on my cricketing career. I now tell players who are struggling what Rahul told me - keep working hard and do the things you did when you played well and believe. Q. Weren't you more fortunate than most captains to have fewer seniors and fewer egos to appease in the team?A. A team is like a family. In a family, a lot of things depend on how your elders are. The atmosphere in the dressing room depends on how the senior guys behave. Ours have done a fantastic job of passing on good habits, good practices. It's up to the younger players to now pass that on. Even if some injustice was done to them they should ensure it isn't repeated with their juniors. Q. Weren't you lucky also to ask for and get a foreign coach?A. It wasn't just me. All of us were involved. Sachin was equally important in the process, Anil, Rahul, all of us. We couldn't let things be the way they were. People don't remember personal glory. People won't recall how many runs Mohammed Kaif scored in the NatWest final or what Rahul scored in Headingley. They only remember India won the NatWest final and at Leeds batting first on a seaming wicket. People remember India won. John Wright is a very good man. I trust him a lot. Many times, I do things on my own. He may give me a suggestion but I may try something else. But the best thing he has done is to send the right vibes in the dressing room about hardwork and fitness. I honestly feel he is one man who can do a lot of good for Indian cricket. Someday somebody else will be captain and they will have another coach but I think John should still be involved with Indian cricket. He has a lot of ideas, he can help youngsters grow and become better players. Q. Captains are known to turn to books for inspiration and growth. You're not a great reader, so where do you turn?A. I'm not fond of reading, no. I draw inspiration from people I see around me. I have a lot of regard for Steve Waugh as a character, as a cricketer. He got a hundred in Sharjah under pressure and I watched every ball of his innings. I get a lot of inspiration from his career, how he conducts his to India Today Magazine- EndsMust Watch
Time of India
24 minutes ago
- Time of India
Jamshedpur set to host Durand Cup for second consecutive year as trophy tour begins
Durand Cup returns to Jamshedpur for second consecutive year with a grand trophy showcase with the 134th IndianOil Durand Cup as the city gets ready to host Asia's oldest football tournament for the second consecutive year. The three trophies of the Durand Cup were showcased here at the XLRI Auditorium in the presence of Shri. Santosh Gangwar, Hon'ble Governor of Jharkhand who was the Chief Guest of the event. Also present, were Shri Ramdas Soren, Hon'ble Minister of School Education & Literacy Development, Government of Jharkhand, Lt. Gen Mohit Malhotra, AVSM, SM, Chief of Staff, HQ Eastern Command and Chairman, Durand Cup Organising Committe and Shri. DB Sundara Ramam, Vice President Corporate Services, Tata Steel Limited. The three glittering pieces of silverware, the Durand Cup, the original prize and the rolling Shimla Trophy (presented by residents of Shimla in 1904), as well as the President's Cup which the winners keep permanently, will be then taken on a roadshow later in the day covering prominent city landmarks generating immense enthusiasm in the football loving city. Speaking on the occasion Shri. Santosh Gangwar, Hon'ble Governor of Jharkhand said, 'As one of Asia's oldest and most prestigious football tournaments, the Durand Cup is a symbol of tradition, discipline, and sporting excellence. The hosting of the Durand Cup in Jamshedpur for the second consecutive year is a testament to the state's growing stature in Indian sports. Its presence here reinforces the spirit of unity and aspiration among our youth. Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi , India's sporting ecosystem has undergone a transformative shift with initiatives like Khelo India and TOPS empowering thousands of young athletes across the nation. Jharkhand, with its deep-rooted passion for football and a legacy of producing national and international talent, stands proudly at the heart of this movement. I extend my best wishes to all participating teams and hope this tournament continues to inspire generations to dream big.' Also speaking on the occasion the Guest of Honour for the event, Shri. Ramdas Soren emphasised, 'As we all know Durand Cup is the oldest tournament in Asia and it has so much history and it will be an honour for us to host this tournament again. Today I am feeling proud to say that Jharkhand has produced many players for the country whether it is in hockey or cricket and we have always contributed to sports. So it's a matter of great pride to have this tournament again in Jamshedpur and I hope that the people of Jharkhand enjoy the Durand Cup.' The audience were also treated to some enthralling performances with local artists performing Santhali and Chhau dances along with a Bhangra dance. Live Events Lt. Gen Mohit Malhotra shared his thoughts, ' For over 137 years, the Durand Cup has witnessed the evolution of Indian football, producing legends, uniting communities, and igniting passions across generations. In recent years, under the stewardship of Eastern Command, the Durand Cup has experienced remarkable growth in stature, reach and quality. Our efforts, in close partnership with stakeholders across the country, have ensured that the tournament retains its heritage while embracing modern professionalism. I invite the people of this great city, football enthusiasts, and the vibrant youth of Jharkhand to come forward, be part of history, and experience world-class football at your doorstep. Together, let us celebrate the beautiful game, honour tradition, and inspire the next generation.' Tata Steel's commitment to sports shines with the organisation's association of the prestigious Durand Cup, continuing their support from the previous year. This underscores Tata Steel's role in supporting football in the country and especially in Jamshedpur for many decades. 'At Tata Steel, sports are a way of life. We have a long history of promoting football in India, from grassroots to professional leagues. Today, as we kick off the Durand Cup Trophy Tour, Tata Steel feels proud to be associated with the Indian Army and the Government of Jharkhand and thank them for giving us an opportunity to host part of the Durand Cup Football Tournament in Jamshedpur', said Shri. DB Sundara Ramam, Vice President Corporate Services, Tata Steel Limited. The three trophies will travel through key city landmarks, including Mango Bus Stand, Sakchi Circle, and JUSCO Circle, before being displayed at the JRD TATA Sports Complex, which will be hosting the matches. Later, the trophies will also be showcased at Bistupur Square. The Trophy tour will continue tomorrow (8th July) from Jubilee Park at 6 AM and will be on display at the Tata Motors from 9 AM to 11 AM. The trophy will be displayed at the Tatanagar Railway Station from 12 Noon for three and a half hours before it moves on to the P&M Mall which will be the final destination of the tour. Jamshedpur will host four teams with hosts and pride of the Steel City Jamshedpur FC , 1 Ladakh FC who will be making their debut in Durand Cup, Indian Army FT and Tribhuvan Army FT of Nepal Army adding international flavour to the tournament. A total of seven matches, including one quarterfinal will be played at the JRD Tata Sports Complex with the first match scheduled on 24th July with the other group stage matches to be played on 29th July, 2nd, 5th, 8th and 11th of August. The quarterfinals will be played on 17th August.
