Gill wants top order to take 'more responsibility' after Leeds loss

In the wake of two lower-order collapses in the first Test against England in Leeds, India's captain Shubman Gill has put the onus on the batters, starting with himself, to not give away starts on these flat pitches in England. India were 430 for 3 and 340 for 4 before losing 7 for 41 and 6 for 31, failing on both occasions to bat England out of the game. Eventually they lost by five wickets on the final evening despite getting into positions from where a draw should have been the worst result for them.

"When we were batting, I felt I could have, now looking back at it… the kind of shot I played, I felt I could have batted a little bit more, added another 50 runs with Rishabh [Pant]," Gill said when asked what lessons he learnt from his captaincy debut. "That was my learning from when I was batting."

Gill was on 147 when he tried to hit Shoaib Bashir in the air, and ended up dragging it to the deep fielder on the leg side. What followed was some extravagant shots from the lower order, which didn't come off. Gill was asked if the lower order was spoken to regarding batting responsibly. He again shifted the spotlight more on himself and the batters. "Definitely [chats have been had]," Gill said. "It's been one of the things that we always talk about, especially with our batting depth… the lower order sometimes isn't able to contribute as much as the other teams.

"Having said that, you can also look at the other side as well. I was batting on 147 and the way I got out, maybe I could have scored 50 more in partnership with Rishabh. If you get a good ball and you get out, that's fine, but once you are set and you know that you don't really have that much depth in your batting order, maybe the top order could take a little bit more responsibility and bat the opposition completely out of the game. So I think these are different perspectives to look at the game, but definitely your lower order when your last five or six don't contribute as much, then it becomes easier for the opposition to come back in the game."

The batting depth is what India seem to be grappling with Jasprit Bumrah available for Edgbaston but likely to be rested to manage his workload, which demands he play only three of these five Tests. The surface is dry underneath and Birmingham has been dry and warm in the lead-up to the match, which gives India an option to go with a second spinner. Indications are that the said spinner could be Washington Sundar to retain batting depth.

"When we were bowling, there were learnings like once the ball is getting old and it's getting soft, there isn't much happening," Gill said. "So how do you contain? How do you control the run flow, especially with the way they bat? Maybe having an extra spinner might help contain that run flow, especially in the third or in the fourth innings."

Gill was asked if Bumrah's absence might encourage them to play a wicket-taking spinner in Kuldeep Yadav. "We will take that [final] call this evening, and I don't think it will change the combination as such," Gill said, suggesting a direct swap between Bumrah and a fast bowler, and a spinner for Shardul Thakur, whom India played as a "bowling allrounder".

"We did play an extra bowler, I would say a proper bowling allrounder in the last match," Gill said. "And now having to look back at it, I think nobody really expects that your last six is going to get out in under 40 runs. Even if they play bad, you expect them to maybe score 100 runs or 80 runs. And these are things that you can't really plan or you can't really expect, but you can reflect on those things. And we have some things in mind if we are in this kind of situation again, how we can get better at it."