ENG vs IND: "That's the captain standing up for his team"- Ricky Ponting backs Shubman Gill over verbal altercation in the Lord's test

Shubman Gill had a verbal altercation with Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett during the Lord’s test.

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has backed Shubman Gill over the verbal altercation during the Lord’s test. The day 3 of the third test between England Cricket Team and Indian Cricket Team witnessed some drama towards the end.

After getting all out, India were supposed to bowl three overs towards the end of day 3 of the Lord’s test. However, with England opener Zak Crawley faking an injury to delay the proceedings, only one over was possible. As Crawley played the game’s old tactics of delaying, it didn’t sit well with the opposition captain Shubman Gill, who also had a verbal altercation with the England openers.

England eventually defeated India by 22 runs in a nail-biting clash at the Lord’s. The match went to the final session of the final day with India’s fightback to chase a 193-run target. However, England bundled India for 170 runs to gain a 2-1 lead in the series.

Ricky Ponting backs Shubman Gill over verbal altercation in the Lord’s test

During an episode of The ICC Review, former Australian cricketer Ponting backed Gill over the Lord’s incident. He said that Gill was just standing up for his team as a captain.

“That was a little out of character from what I’ve known from Shubman in the past. I am sure everyone that was there watching it and I know you would know him quite well, that’s not what he’s generally like,” he said.

“That’s the captain standing up for his team, that’s a captain really wanting to show that it’s his team now and this is the way that we’re going to play the game, and also, I guess, wanting to give a little bit back,” he added.

Ponting also noted that there is too much media pressure during a test series in England. Hence, it can be a tough place to play.

“The UK can be a hard place to play. The crowds, as much as they love their game, can be as hostile a place to play as anywhere in the world. The media there, when you’re in a big series, when it’s an Ashes series or when it’s England and India, the media always feel like they’re right on top of your back as well,” he added.

Notably, Gill has shown a wonderful form with the bat in the ongoing test series. With 607 runs in three games, he is the leading run-scorer of the series. Gill got out cheaply in the Lord’s test and will aim for a comeback in the upcoming game in Manchester.

Meanwhile, the fourth test between England and India will commence on July 23 at Old Trafford, Manchester. India have faced a big blow ahead of the match. While Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out of the test series, pacers Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh have been ruled out of the fourth test.

For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.