New Delhi: Legendary cricketer Kapil Dev Saturday said the England series will serve as a valuable learning experience for young India skipper Shubman Gill and urged critics to give him some time to grow into the leadership role.
Gill was named captain ahead of the ongoing five-Test series against England and led the side to a historic win at Birmingham, but India are down 1-2 in the series and they are staring down the barrel in the fourth Test at Manchester.
“Give him time. This is his first series, he will commit mistakes and there will be many positives over the period of time, he will learn. There is no problem if he is learning. There will be mistakes, but he is learning from his mistakes that is very important,” Kapil, who is the president of PGTI, said on the sidelines of the PGTI Schedule announcement for the second half of 2025.
“This is a young team, they are getting the opportunity to play and in the coming days these players will win. It is just a new team. Any new team in the world takes time to adjust. Gill is a new captain, and he will learn a lot and I think this series will be a learning step.”
Kapil also weighed in on India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who had opted to play only three of the five Tests in the series to manage his workload, given his injury-prone past.
“I think everybody is different. Times have changed, bodies are different. They are working differently. It is difficult to judge. Yes he is one of the fast bowlers we have but his action is so awkward and it is difficult to sustain,” the 1983 World Cup winning captain said.
“We didn’t think he will be able to play this far because he takes too much stress on the body. But still he is delivering to the Indian team. So hats off to him.”
On debutant pacer Anshul Kamboj, who returned figures of 18-1-89-1 in the ongoing fourth Test, Kapil said it was unfair to expect miracles in a player’s first outing.
“What do you expect from a debutant, that he should take 10 wickets? You have to assess his potential. If he’s good enough, he will bounce back. Everyone is nervous when playing their first game. The result may not be ideal, but I believe the ability is there, and that’s more important,” he said.
Asked to comment on England captain Ben Stokes, Kapil said he ranks Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja higher than the Englishman.
“I don’t want to compare. Stokes is a good all-rounder, but I still feel Jadeja is ahead. He is performing far better,” Kapil said.
PTI