“He has to keep his calmness in batting” - Former all-rounder’s huge statement on Shubman Gill’s aggression in ENG vs IND 2025 3rd Test

Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan reflected on India captain Shubman Gill's aggression and batting in the third Test against England. While Gill was charged up on the field, he failed to deliver with the bat at Lord's.

Irfan Pathan highlighted the need for the 25-year-old to maintain calmness in his batting. While he supported Shubman Gill's aggression on the field as captain, he urged the star batter not to change his approach with the bat.

"Shubman Gill was in a very good momentum. In this game, he showed aggression on the field as well, which I feel was right. But in batting, he has to keep his calmness because when he is calm, he is in control. In batting, it felt like he was looking to play too many attacking shots. This is not his game. He takes his time and then plays shots. He keeps his head cool while batting. He has to play in his natural way," he said on his YouTube channel 'Irfan Pathan'.

Irfan added that Gill's captaincy would get better with time. The right-hander scored 16 and 6 in the two innings, respectively, of the Lord's Test. With a nine-day gap for the next match, he will have time to reflect on his performance.

The former all-rounder also urged Ravindra Jadeja to play low-risk cricket but look to score while batting with the tail.

"Jadeja batted very well. But I was expecting from Jadeja that when there was a need, while batting with Bumrah, he could have played low-risk cricket and looked for boundaries. You could not have won that game by just being out there. You could have only won it by making runs," he said. (7:13)

Jadeja remained unbeaten on 61 off 181 balls. However, his efforts could not win India the Test. Irfan added that he takes nothing away from the all-rounder for his performance despite the loss.

---

Irfan Pathan highlights factors that cost India the Lord's Test

In the same video, Irfan Pathan also highlighted certain factors that cost India the game. Those included the extras and losing wickets in quick succession.

"If you have given just half the extras combined in both innings, you could have seized the game. There were many factors. You could have chased this down had you not lost back-to-back wickets. I expected a lot from KL Rahul. When he got out, it came to my mind that this game is out of our hands. He is someone who could have done it. These runs should have definitely been chased. You will even tell Jaiswal that the shot he played was not needed. Small pockets and moments where you needed to seize were not done," he said. (1:44)

Despite having dominated for most of the 15 days of play so far in the series, India find themselves 1-2 behind in the series. The fourth Test is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, July 23, in Manchester, where the visitors will aim to bounce back.