- July 15, 2025
Cricket is just as much a mind game as it is a skill game, because the best players of the game can go sideways once their minds get cluttered. The same guy who looked so classy and calm at Headingley and Edgbaston seemed to look like a damp squid all of a sudden. With two scores of 16 and 6 with the game in the balance, Michael Vaughan did not hold back, saying the Indian skipper folded under pressure. Was it just the occasion? Or was it deeper than that? Let’s investigate this curious case of Gill’s strange slump.
A Different Gill at Lord’s — Was It Just Pressure?
Michael Vaughan summed it up well when he said, “That wasn’t the Shubman Gill that batted at Headingley and Edgbaston.” And he is right. At Headingley, Gill looked solid, patient, precise, and fully in control of his off-stump. At Edgbaston, he was in calm, authoritative control, constructing an innings from nothing. But at Lord’s? Gill was poking and prodding, playing and missing. Of Brydon Carse’s nine balls, he played and missed four – that’s unthinkable for anyone with Gill’s level of form.
It wasn’t just the numbers; it was his body language. The incoming deliveries from Woakes, Carse, and Stokes troubled him all through. Was it the famed slope of the Lord’s? Maybe. But it’s more plausible that the weight of captaincy in a high-stakes Test, combined with the setting of the ‘Home of Cricket’, simply got to him. That, coupled with the expectation of carrying India’s chase after Karun Nair’s fall, made the moment heavier than usual.
Incoming Deliveries: The Achilles Heel?
Just for a moment, we are going to get a little technical. The previous Games demonstrated a similar pattern of dismissals for Gill, particularly in the second innings, against incoming deliveries. Whether it was Woakes or Stokes, Gill looked out of sorts if the ball was coming in anywhere from outside in, and even the second innings dismissal – hit flush in front – was acres of space and another incoming delivery trapping him plumb.
What’s strange is, this wasn’t an issue earlier in the series. He was picking lengths early, covering the stumps well, and leaving with authority. But fatigue — mental or physical — can create that half-second delay, and at this level, that’s fatal. Perhaps it’s time the Indian think tank steps in with a technical tune-up. Getting trapped by the same type of delivery repeatedly is a chink that opponents will exploit ruthlessly.
Captaincy & the Added Baggage of Expectations
We saw a similar struggle with greats like Sachin Tendulkar and Kane Williamson early in their captaincy stints — the bat can sometimes feel heavier when you’re thinking like a leader. It wouldn’t be surprising if Gill is undergoing a similar phase. Perhaps it’s just a matter of adjusting to the dual role, but India needs their skipper to find that Zen mode again — and quickly.
Shubman Gill’s Lord’s performance wasn’t simply two low scores, but a unique access to a glimpse of weakness in a fearlessly everything-on-the-line player. Something was off. Be it technique, mental state, or the pressure of the captaincy, there was something distinctly not right. But that’s the beauty of cricket, there is another Test match around the corner!
Can Gill recalibrate and rediscover his Headingley-Edgbaston rhythm? Or will the captaincy crown weigh him down further? What do you think — is this just a temporary blip, or signs of a bigger challenge ahead for India’s young leader? Let’s discuss!
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