CHENNAI:
Shubman Gill marshalled his troops admirably in his maiden Test series as India captain, eventually pulling off a 2-2 draw against hosts England. Gill earned praise from former New Zealand all-rounder
Craig McMillan, who stressed that the new skipper should create a “style of play” which the team sticks to during his captaincy tenure.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!During an interaction in Chennai, McMillan – the assistant coach of the NZ women’s side that is training at the Super Kings Academy as part of their preparation for the 50-over World Cup — also spoke about India missing a Hardik Pandya-type player in Tests, England’s ‘Bazball’ and more. Excerpts:
Gill’s captaincy skills were tested in England. What do you make of his leadership?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.
How do India want to play under Gill?When India had played under
Virat Kohli, everyone knew how they had played — they had been aggressive. It might be a bit different because of the personality of Gill. He has got to work that out with the coach
Gautam Gambhir.
Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja and Ben Stokes had huge roles to play. How vital is it to have genuine allrounders in Tests?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. For England, Ben Stokes is two players in one.
England head coach Brendon McCullum is a former teammate of yours. What are your thoughts on his coaching philosophy?Brendon has always been an aggressive operator. He is a real positive man as well. It is no surprise that he has pushed that philosophy with England – being proactive and pushing the game forward. And England have certainly played better under him than they did under the previous regime. It has made for entertaining cricket at times
Can ‘Bazball’ be effective in all conditions?I do not think that you can play one style all over the world. If England are smart enough (during the Ashes), they will adapt because Australia have got a quality bowling attack. If you make mistakes in Australia, you get sorted out pretty quickly.
Should there be a two-tier model for Test cricket?I do not think that it will be good for the world game. The ‘Big Three’ (India, Australia and England) need to support the other teams. Some countries do not have the resources that they have. It would be a bit of a mistake if it is split into two.
Coming to the Women’s World Cup, how has NZ’s preparation been?The World Cup is not that far away, so to come to India and expose some of our girls to what we are likely to face, is hugely beneficial. The time we have had at the academy has been outstanding. It is a beneficial trip, which will help us come WC time.
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