Aakash Chopra lauds Shubman Gill as a batter after ENG vs IND 2025 series

Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra showered praise on Shubman Gill for his consistent performances in the Anderson-Tendulkar series against England. Gill top-scored in the series with 754 runs in five Test matches at an impressive average of 75.4.

There were doubts raised about Gill before the Test series as he was averaging only 25 outside the Indian subcontinent. However, he was able to prove his mettle against England as he batted at the top of his game.

Gill aggregated 430 runs in the second Test match at Edgbaston and played a key role in India’s win. The Indian captain also scored a century in the second innings at Old Trafford, Manchester, to save the fourth Test.

“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,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel. 

Chopra highlighted that Gill had not produced impressive numbers while playing away from home.

“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.

The renowned commentator noted that Gill’s consistent performances with the bat also helped him as a leader.

“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.

Gill was able to break multiple records after scoring a double century and a hundred in the second Test match.

“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.

Gill will look to continue his rich form in the upcoming Asia Cup.