"It was a very legit criticism" - Aakash Chopra lauds Shubman Gill as a batter after ENG vs IND 2025 series

Former India player Aakash Chopra has lauded Shubman Gill for his record-breaking performances with the bat in the recently concluded Test series against England. He noted that the Indian captain was legitimately being criticized for his underwhelming overseas numbers before the series.

The five-match Test series between India and England ended in a 2-2 draw. Gill was chosen as the visitors' Player of the Series for scoring 754 runs at an average of 75.40 in 10 innings.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener opined that Gill was fairly being criticized for his below-par overseas numbers before the start of the series.

"Let's start with Shubman Gill, the batter, because that's his primary job. He is the captain, but the captain has to do his job. His first job is to score runs with the bat, because that was one criticism, and it was a very legit criticism, that he has scored decent runs in India, but look at his overseas numbers," he said (5:00).

Chopra added that critics were highlighting that the stylish batter hadn't done much of note in away Tests since his impressive performances in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2020-21.

"His average away from Asia was nothing. His average of 29 away from home was also nothing, and he had played three Tests in England across two or three years and hadn't scored runs there either. One Australia series was good, but after that, he had hardly done anything," he observed.

Shubman Gill had scored 716 runs at an average of 27.54 in 15 overseas Tests before the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. He hadn't scored a Test century outside Asia, with his only overseas hundred at that time being his 110-run knock against Bangladesh in Chattogram in December 2022.

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"He said he wouldn't just score runs, but create history" - Aakash Chopra on Shubman Gill's record-breaking Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy

Shubman Gill scored a double century and three centuries in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that Shubman Gill helped his cause as a captain with his record-breaking performances with the bat.

"I also said that Shubman Gill, the batter, has to help Shubman Gill, the captain, because captaincy would become easy if Gill scored runs. He said he wouldn't just score runs, but create history. He said he would break records. Has any captain scored more than 750 runs in a Test series?" he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that Gill started the tour with a century before smashing records in the second Test.

"Forget series, careers end without scoring 750 runs. He started from the first match by scoring a hundred at Headingley. After that, he scored nearly 450 runs in one match at Edgbaston. He won that match. 430 runs to be precise, 250-plus in the first innings and 150-plus in the second innings," Chopra observed.

While acknowledging that Gill didn't play substantial knocks at Lord's and The Oval, Chopra added that he scored a hundred at Old Trafford as well to write his own script while keeping comparisons with Virat Kohli at bay.

"London didn't suit him, Oval and Lord's didn't go good, but he scored runs in Manchester. He was unstoppable. When you start batting at a new number, and you know that number belonged to Virat Kohli, comparisons would happen. He said, 'Leave comparisons, I would write my own story,'" he elaborated.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra acknowledged that the conditions were batting-friendly in most Tests and that the England bowling attack didn't look that good. However, the analyst highlighted that the conditions and attack were the same for everyone. He added that Shubman Gill's batting performances helped him earn his teammates' respect as he had walked the talk.