"He is now England’s answer to Virender Sehwag" - David Lloyd’s massive praise for star batter after ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test

Ex-England cricketer David Llloyd has compared Ben Duckett to Virender Sehwag following the former's heroics in the opening Test against India at Headingley in Leeds. With Sehwag known for his aggressive style of play, Lloyd reckons Duckett is his equivalent for England.

Duckett, 30, crafted one of the most memorable fourth-innings tons as England gunned down 371 on Day 5 against India with five wickets to spare. The southpaw made 149 off 170 on a tricky pitch, setting the foundation for the mammoth chase and built a 188-run opening stand with Zak Crawley.

Writing in his column for The Daily Mail, the veteran commentator stated that he was especially in awe of how well Duckett played the reverse sweep on the final day against India.

"Ben Duckett has come a long way since he poured a drink over Jimmy Anderson on an Ashes tour. He is now England’s answer to Virender Sehwag and opening the batting in your World XI. The reverse sweep is such a natural shot for him. He plays it for fun. It’s no surprise to learn he was a good hockey player at school because it’s like a hockey shot."

With Ravindra Jadeja trying to bowl into the rough to generate spin and uneven bounce, the left-hander brought out the reverse sweep and scored boundaries at will. He eventually perished to Shardul Thakur, leaving England more than 100 runs from victory. However, Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Jamie Smith completed the job, putting the hosts 1-0 up.

"Shubman Gill is an ace batsman but new to Test match captaincy and it shows" - David Llloyd

Shubman Gill. (Image Credits: Getty)

In the same column, Lloyd went on to compare Stokes and Shubman Gill's captaincy styles, pointing out that the latter is more reactive than proactive. The 78-year-old added:

"Captaincy in this series will now come under the microscope. Ben Stokes is experienced and almost always ahead of the game. He is very well organised, calm on the field and authoritative. On the other hand, Shubman Gill is an ace batsman but new to Test match captaincy and it shows. We have seen in this game that he is reactive rather than proactive and can get confused."

India will be keen to level the five-Test series in the second match at Edgbaston in Birmingham, beginning on July 2.