India’s defeat in the opening Test of the 2025 England tour at Headingley has raised serious questions about Shubman Gill after only his first match as red-ball captain. Former England captain Nasser Hussain was blunt in his assessment of Gill’s captaincy debut.
Speaking on Sky Sports after England chased down a mammoth fourth-innings target of 371 runs, their second highest chase in Test cricket, Hussain pointed out that Gill lacked the aura of his predecessors, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who recently retired from the Test format.
Indian batters notched up five individual centuries across the match but still succumbed to a record defeat at Headingley. The game seemed firmly in India’s grip but England’s Bazball approach, led by a rampaging Ben Duckett, turned the contest on its head as The Three Lions won by five wickets.
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No Aura Like Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli: Nasser Hussain Slams Shubman Gill’s Leadership in Headingley Defeat
More than just the loss, what raised eyebrows was how India allowed England to dominate in the run-chase. Their bowlers struggled to adapt to the surface. The absence of proactive captaincy, as cited by Hussain, and a reluctance to assert control became central talking points in the post-match analysis. Shubman Gill, still only 25 and relatively new to leadership at this level, found himself under intense scrutiny.
Hussain did not mince words while evaluating Gill’s debut as Test captain. Comparing him directly with modern greats who previously held the position, the former England skipper said Gill lacked the stature and instinctive leadership presence of someone like Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma.
"I thought I saw someone just finding his way, honestly. You’ve got to be very careful in the first Test match, the people he’s (Gill) taken over from, Kohli, and then Rohit Sharma. I thought he didn’t quite have that on-field aura as the names I mentioned there. You look down on those two previous names, and you immediately see who was in charge of India," Hussain said as quoted on Sky Sports.
From Hussain’s point of view, Gill did not quite command the field in a way that immediately conveyed control. He also suggested that the leadership appeared fractured with too many voices potentially clouding decisions. It was, as he put it, "captaincy by committee."
"I looked down from the press box, the commentary position, there were a lot of captains; it was a bit captaincy by committee, which can happen in your early days as a leader because you’re still senior players like Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul want to try and help you out as much as possible. I thought he followed the ball a lot. I thought he was reactive as opposed to proactive," he added.
The biggest criticism, though, came when Hussain dissected the team’s bowling tactics in relation to how Ravindra Jadeja was utilized. The commentary panel, including Ravi Shastri and Mark Butcher, pointed out repeatedly how Jadeja failed to target the rough areas outside the left-hander’s off stump, despite favourable footmarks being clearly visible.
Hussain could not believe no one, neither Gill nor other seniors, corrected this during the game.
"A word with Jadeja, maybe as a young captain, to go to such an experienced spinner, and go, you do know the rough is out there. Ravi Shastri and Mark Butcher are up there, going, show us where that ball is pitching, and it was pitching nowhere near the rough. Ravi was saying, a bit slow, a bit wide, bowl in the rough. I was surprised that not one of the senior players or captains went to Jadeja and said, ‘Can we go a little bit wider?’ But Ravi’s right, they lost the game for two things that he couldn’t control," Hussain stated.
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India Aiming for Comeback in Edgbaston
India will now go to Birmingham where the second Test is set to begin on July 2. They will be eager to bounce back.
England, on the other hand, will carry the momentum and confidence from their record-breaking win. They will look to extend their lead.
