Azharuddin Defends Shubman Gill's Captaincy, Urges Critics to Show Patience

Mohammed Azharuddin jumped to the defence of India Test captain Shubman Gill amidst criticism after the loss in the Headingley Test to England. Gill, who took over as skipper of the side after Rohit Sharma's Test retirement, was unable to inspire the Indian team to secure a win, despite scoring a fine hundred in the first innings.

The 25-year-old's aura as captain was questioned by Nasser Hussain and many questioned his tactics during the game. Despite this, some of the pundits, like Ravi Shastri, have defended Gill and the latest to do it is Azharuddin. The former India captain said that it was too early to talk about his captaincy and he should be given a fair chance as he has just started the job.

Azharuddin said that Gill should be given time and support and quick criticism of players should be stopped.

“This is his just first match as a captain, you just can’t talk about captaincy. It’s too early to talk about captaincy,” said Azharuddin.

“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 commented on the upcoming Test in Edgbaston and said that India will need to be smart with their combinations and the bowling has to be perfect.

“We lost because of batting collapse, but anyways now they have to pick the right players and bowling has to be perfect,” said Azharuddin.

'India too dependent on Bumrah'

Azharuddin said that it seemed like India were too dependent on Jasprit Bumrah to produce magic during the first Test loss. Bumrah picked up five wickets in the first innings before England were able to nullify him in the second one and secure the win.

Azharuddin further stated that India need more experienced bowlers and should consider playing Kuldeep Yadav in the second Test.

“They are too much dependent on Bumrah. It’s not easy because you need more experienced bowlers, and they should play Kuldeep Yadav,” said Azharuddin.

India and England will square off in the second Test on July 2.