India captain Shubman Gill will be looking to lead the side to their second victory of the series against England in the upcoming match which is set to commence from July 23 in Manchester. After losing the first Test at Headingley, the Men in Blue made a fantastic comeback and decimated the hosts in a massive 336-run victory. However, their fortunes changed in the very next match as England went on to take a 2-1 lead in the series with a 22-run win at Lord's.
One of the main highlights of the third Test was Gill's heated verbal exchange with England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett on Day 3. It all began when Crawley pulled away four times before facing a delivery from Jasprit Bumrah. This led to Gill accusing the batter of time-wasting and things only got worse when the next delivery hit Crawley on the glove. As the 27-year-old called in the physio to inspect, multiple Indian players started to taunt him with sarcastic claps.
Tiwary criticized Gill for his on-field spats with England batters
Gill also went on to have a heated on-field spat with Duckett, who was Crawley's opening partner. This aggressive side of Gill was something that he hadn't showcased before and it left many surprised. However, former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary was critical of the Indian captain's aggressive mindset and even accused him of trying to 'copy' Virat Kohli.
"I don't like the way captain Gill is going about things. I think he is trying to copy what Virat did last time. And as a result, it is not helping his batting," Tiwary told SportsBoom.com.
"Ever since he became a captain in the IPL, I have noticed that he is getting into an aggressive mindset, and having animated chats with umpires. It was unlike Gill. He doesn't need to show that kind of aggression, and doesn't have to prove anything. I know a captain should lead from the front, but this much aggression is not required. It takes your energy away," he added.
Tiwary felt that Gill didn't show aggression when it actually mattered and labelled it as one of the reasons behind the Indian team not winning the third Test. He didn't stop there and slammed the Indian captain for the language that he used to sledge the England batters and added that as the skipper, the 25-year-old should maintain some standards.
"He can stick to his style of being aggressive. It doesn't mean that you have to always give it back verbally. Aggression can also be shown by winning Test matches. India could have easily led the series 2-1. Such aggression is not good for the game, especially from the captain of the Indian cricket team," Tiwary stated.
"I am not happy with the language and words that are coming in the audio when they are near the stumps. You are representing the Indian cricket team. I think this has become a trend, as previous captains have probably used such words to express their anger, but this needs to be controlled. If you use slang, the next generation will pick it up," he added.
Meanwhile, it is crucial for the Indian team to come out victorious in the fourth Test as any other result would see them lose all their chances of winning the series. On the other hand, if England manage to win at Old Trafford, then they will go on to seal the series even before playing the fifth and final match.