“If Virat Kohli had come out to bat…”: Former Indian player’s message to Gill following Lord’s defeat

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has said that Indian captain Shubman Gill appears to be trying to become a brand like Virat Kohli but also added that it’s not working for him. Manjrekar’s remarks come in the aftermath of India’s defeat in the third Test against England, where Gill struggled with the bat following his eye-catching performance in the second game. In the second match, the young captain notched up a staggering double century, but the brilliance of that knock was quickly followed by a disappointing performance in the third test, where Gill failed to make a noteworthy impact, scoring (16) and (6) respectively. 

"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.

Manjrekar believed that Virat Kohli could have smashed a hundred at Lord’s if he had come out to bat. Meanwhile, India, who lost the third game to go 1-2 down in the five-match series, fell short of 22 runs as they failed to chase a target of 193 runs. 

"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 said.