Former New Zealand all-rounder Craig McMillan recently praised the Shubman Gill-led Indian team that levelled the Test series 2-2 against England in England.
Cricket experts have considered this as a remarkable achievement by Gill after his team was trailing 2-1 in the series leading into the final Tests. India won at Edgbaston and the Oval and lost matches at Headingley and Lord’s.
India was very close to winning the Lord’s Test, but Mohammed Siraj’s dismissal brought heartbreak for the Indian fans. They managed to draw the fourth Test in Manchester and won the Oval Test to level the series.
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He Will Get Better With Experience - Craig McMillan on Shubman Gill
Craig McMillan spoke at an event in Chennai, where the New Zealand women’s team are training at the CSK academy ahead of the Women’s ODI World Cup later this year. He started his interaction by praising Shubman Gill for his achievement in England.
“He looks a good captain. The first series is very tough. In such a pressure-cooked series, he probably made a few mistakes. But you expect those in his first series. He will get better with experience. He is the future, so India will invest in him. He will get to know his team’s game, which I think is really important, and the style of play” he said.
This series was another one where the team management have struggled to seek a proper seam-bowling all-rounder for English conditions. Despite the conditions being helpful, the likes of Shardul Thakur and Nitish Kumar Reddy could not do enough with the ball. Reddy was ruled out of the final two Test matches with a knee injury. Thakur, who played the first and the fourth Test batted just three innings, scoring 46 runs. With the ball, he took just two wickets in the second innings of the Headingley Test.
McMillan said that India needs an all-rounder like Hardik Pandya in Test cricket who can contribute significantly with the bat and ball.
“In Asian conditions, you need a spin-bowling allrounder like Jadeja, Washington or previously R Ashwin. In NZ, Australia and England, you need a fast-bowling allrounder. It is where India are missing a player like Hardik Pandya, who can bowl medium pace and bat lower down the order” the former Kiwi all-rounder stressed.
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Hardik Pandya's Test Career In Numbers
Talking about Hardik Pandya’s Test career, he has played just 11 Test matches since making his Test debut against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2017. His last Test match was against England during India’s 2018 tour. Since then, Hardik decided to skip playing Test matches after a serious lower-back injury threatened his career. He picked 17 wickets in those 11 Tests.
