"Those who had doubts...don't understand cricket...": Gambhir on Gill proving his talent to critics

Manchester [UK], July 28 (ANI): India's head coach Gautam Gambhir, speaking on Indian skipper Subman Gill, said that his talent was never in question. He noted that players need time to adapt to international cricket, and Gill's performance in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy isn't surprising to the team.

As the series stands, Gill has already amassed an unbeaten 722 runs, surpassing Yashasvi Jaiswal's 712 against England at home just last year. Only Sunil Gavaskar has scored more in a single Test series for India, with his 774 runs in the 1971 away tour of the West Indies and 732 at home in 1978-79.

"No one had any doubt in Shubhman Gill's talent. Those who had doubts they only know how to speak cricket, not understand it. Because some people take time in international cricket to blossom. And there is no surprise in this dressing room that Shubhman did on this tour," Gambhir told the media.

Gill now has nine centuries in the World Test Championship (WTC) era, equaling Rohit Sharma's tally, although Gill has done it in just 67 innings compared to Rohit's 69.

Gambhir felt that Gill doesn't take the burden of captaincy while batting and said that when he goes to bat, he bats as a batsman, not as a captain.

"And honestly, even if he hadn't done it, no one had any doubt in his talent. Those who understand cricket know what kind of talent Shubhman Gill has. And the important thing is that he is living up to his expectation, his own talent, and more importantly, the pressure of the captaincy, the burden of the captaincy, I think you can't see anything of that sort when he goes into bat. Because when he goes into bat, he goes as a batsman, not as a captain," he added.

Gill carved his name alongside legends as he smashed his fourth century of the series, a superbly composed 103 on the final day of the fourth Test against England, while India is still trailing by 88 runs.

With this hundred, Gill has now joined Don Bradman and Sunil Gavaskar as the only captains in Test history to score four centuries in a single series.

No other player has ever scored four centuries in their first Test series as captain. The previous best stood at three, a mark shared by five greats of the game: Warwick Armstrong, Don Bradman, Greg Chappell, Virat Kohli, and Steven Smith. (ANI)

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