'If Virat Kohli batted instead of Shubman Gill, he would've slammed a century': India captain told to avoid aggression

[rollingstoned]

'If Virat Kohli batted instead of Shubman Gill, he would've slammed a century': India captain told to avoid aggression

Shubman Gill's tentative approach at Lord's drew criticism from former cricketers. Unlike Virat Kohli, who thrived on aggression, Gill struggled under pressure.

Whenever Virat Kohli's name has come up during the India vs England Test series, it has not always been because of his batting. The way he used to carry himself in the field, look the opposition in the eye, gear up the crowd and motivate the bowlers and fielders, has been equally (if not more) talked about during various stages of the Test match, especially when India haven't done well. And mind you, there haven't been a lot of sessions in this series where India didn't do well.

 

India's Shubman Gill (R) and Virat Kohli(AFP)

 

Noted former cricketers like Ravi Shastri and Nasser Hussain said India's new captain, Shubman Gill, despite all his success with the bat, lacked the aggression and the attitude when India couldn't bowl England out on Day 5 at Headingley. The hosts chased down 371 to take a 1-0 lead. And when Gill did try to take the aggressive route, by getting into an ugly feud with England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett right at the end of Day 3 at Lord's, it backfired.

 

 

It not only fired up England, in former fast bowler Stuart Broad, in a way he had never seen, but also put unnecessary pressure on Gill when he came out to bat late on Day 4. The England fielders hounded the Indian captain, who, despite being the highest scorer of this series with three centuries, including a record-breaking 269, looked tentative and out of sorts.

Gill missed a full toss at the start of his innings and was eventually dismissed for a 9-ball 6. Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar warned Shubman Gill not to get caught in the brand-building exercise based on an image that doesn't suit him naturally.

 

"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.

 

‘Aggression doesn’t come naturally to Shubman Gill like it did to Virat Kohli'

Manjrekar added that Virat Kohli loved to pick up a fight with the opposition because that got the best out of him. He believed that Kohli would have slammed a century at Lord's in the second innings if he had come out to bat at that stage. But Gill, instead looked very timid and unnatural during his stay in the middle.

 

 

"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 added.

Gill's fight with Crawley had a long-lasting impact on the third Test. England came out firing with the ball and gave a hard time to India's top order. England captain Ben Stokes bowled two marathon spells, and Jofra Archer dished out telling blows on Day 5. Despite a late fight from Ravindra Jadeja and the tail, India fell short of the 193-run target by 22 runs.

 

[goose]

i agree with this. aggression and steel come in many forms. kohli agression wont work for gill, kohli got away with it because everyone knew the prick cant help himself 

[coffee_rules]

Gill scored 430 runs in one test in England . All this aggression BS is an urban folklore 

[Gollum]

Yes, Kohli was slamming 100 after 100 in 4th innings the last 6 years. All our commentators/experts are jhantus. 

[Gollum]

Since Tendulkar's retirement, India has 2 successful 150+ chases, Gabba and Ranchi '24. Kohli didn't play either of those games. 

[putrevus]

Enough of Kohli this and that, he stunk for five years and lost the will to compete .After what Gill did in 2nd test he was bound to have let down. These idiots are piling on him for no reason.

 

It would best for Gill to be himself, he has to form his own identity as a captain. All the loses and wins will be under his name.

 

He has to be bold on the field, if he does that he will be just fine in long run.

Edited July 16, 2025 by putrevus

[vvvslaxman]

1 hour ago, goose said:

i agree with this. aggression and steel come in many forms. kohli agression wont work for gill, kohli got away with it because everyone knew the prick cant help himself 

Even i don't want his aggression. Let him follow Rahane as an example. Much better example.

[Lord]

Kohli PR still strong  

 

bc kab jaan chhutegi 

[Lord]

5 hours ago, Gollum said:

Since Tendulkar's retirement, India has 2 successful 150+ chases, Gabba and Ranchi '24. Kohli didn't play either of those games. 

 

Around 7-8 unsuccessful chases in that time with 'Clutch' Kohli failing everytime

[putrevus]

4 minutes ago, Lord said:

Kohli PR still strong  

 

bc kab jaan chhutegi 

How is this Kohli PR, did he ask these guys to say these things.

[Lord]

2 minutes ago, putrevus said:

How is this Kohli PR, did he ask these guys to say these things.

yes to make himself look good. 

[putrevus]

18 minutes ago, Lord said:

yes to make himself look good. 

Wow, so he is paying Hussain and company to say these things about him.

 

 

Where do you get this information. 

[Lord]

5 minutes ago, putrevus said:

Wow, so he is paying Hussain and company to say these things about him.

 

 

Where do you get this information. 

 

Talking about Manjrekar

[putrevus]

18 minutes ago, Lord said:

 

Talking about Manjrekar

Hussain said after first test Gill missed the intensity of Kohli and Now manju. I would love to know where are getting this information about payments.

 

So Kohli is paying all these guys to say nice things about him.

Edited July 16, 2025 by putrevus

[Bigg Brother]

Kohli himself never closed such chase. He once came close in Adelaide 2014 but thats it. Otherwise it was same meek surrender by him as well. 

[Insidious]

Kohli thriving on aggression is a myth, a big fat lie.  His fans/ PR used to refer to that MCG test to show that how aggression bring the best out of him.

 

But the truth is  Kohli lost his cool after that brief altercation with Johnson and almost threw his wicket in that MCG test in 2014. Someone dropped his catch and then it was Rahane who calm him down. Those who follow that match live knew this. 

 

[R!TTER]

1 hour ago, putrevus said:

 

So Kohli is paying all these guys to say nice things about him.

I think his PR is handled by MS, who in turn was funded by CIA, Mossad & the Trump cabal 

[R!TTER]

1 minute ago, Insidious said:

Kohli thriving on aggression is a myth, a big fat lie. 

No one thrives on aggression, literally no one alive ever! Excess adrenaline hampers your decision making, anyone thinking otherwise is a cuckold of the highest order 

[putrevus]

Sachin failed  in most 4th innings chases other than Chennai 2008  just like most other Indian batsmen.

 

How many 4th innings chases India has in their history. 406 in 1977 against WI comes to mind.

 

Sydney 2004,  and Laxman had couple against SL and Mohali.Most  successful chases have to have good opening partnership. 
 

Kl Rahul was designated opener in many of those chases .

 

 

 

[R!TTER]

What a load of BS -

 

This is 90% of his career, 60% of which was playing in a 6/7th ranked test side till 2001 & the stats are "shocking" I know 

Primary team India

Start of match date between 1 Jan 1989 and 31 Dec 2008

Innings in match 4th innings

Qualifications runs scored greater than or equal to 500

Ordered by batting average (descending)

Overall figures

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	0	4s	6s
R Dravid	1996-2008	50	44	15	1297	103*	44.72	3257	39.82	1	9	0	163	2
SC Ganguly	1996-2008	43	32	9	864	101*	37.56	1571	54.99	1	3	3	124	5
SR Tendulkar	1989-2008	56	46	13	1212	136	36.72	2388	50.75	3	3	3	162	2
VVS Laxman	1996-2008	39	28	6	699	74	31.77	1475	47.38	0	4	2	94	1
V Sehwag	2001-2008	24	20	3	539	83	31.70	701	76.89	0	4	4	74	9

 

 

If you take the more generous timespan when we were a top 3 side, even then his numbers are well above avg -

Primary team India

Start of match date between 1 Jan 2001 and 31 Dec 2010

Innings in match 4th innings

Qualifications runs scored greater than or equal to 200

Ordered by batting average (descending)

Overall figures

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	0	4s	6s
Yuvraj Singh	2004-2010	14	8	3	266	122	53.20	458	58.07	1	1	1	36	2
G Gambhir	2004-2010	10	10	5	250	66	50.00	523	47.80	0	2	1	33	0
VVS Laxman	2001-2010	34	22	7	725	103*	48.33	1267	57.22	1	4	0	98	1
SR Tendulkar	2001-2010	34	26	8	829	103*	46.05	1585	52.30	1	4	1	104	4
R Dravid	2001-2010	40	33	12	923	87	43.95	2305	40.04	0	7	0	122	1
SC Ganguly	2001-2008	27	19	6	472	98*	36.30	818	57.70	0	2	1	72	0
SS Das	2001-2002	8	7	1	209	82*	34.83	584	35.78	0	2	1	25	0
V Sehwag	2001-2010	30	25	5	617	83	30.85	789	78.20	0	5	5	83	10
W Jaffer	2002-2008	13	13	0	377	100	29.00	780	48.33	1	3	1	47	0
MS Dhoni	2006-2010	21	9	1	230	76*	28.75	453	50.77	0	1	0	33	2