ENG vs IND: "Shubman Gill has matured a lot"- Nasser Hussain credits GT captain's IPL 2025 stint for his success in the Headingley test

By Vikas Singh Derek

Vikas Singh Derek has a Master's in Journalism and has written more than 50,000 articles. He currently works as a cricket content writer at Khel Now.

Published at :June 21, 2025 at 5:57 PM

Modified at :June 21, 2025 at 5:57 PM

(Courtesy : Getty Images)

Shubman Gill scored a century in first innings of the Headingley test.

Indian Cricket Team captain Shubman Gill had a marvellous start to his test captaincy tenure as he smacked a century against the England Cricket Team in the first test at Headingley, Leeds. The right-handed batsman slammed a century on day 1 and remained unbeaten on 127 runs off 175 balls at the stumps.

Shubman Gill was appointed as the test skipper ahead of India’s tour of England 2025. The Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI) handed him the responsibility following Rohit Sharma’s test retirement. Gill also moved down to No. 4 spot in tests.

He arrived to bat in the second session on day one after debutant Sai Sudharsan lost his wicket for a duck. Gill etched a crucial stand of 129 runs for the third wicket with Yashasvi Jaiswal. The latter also scored a century before the tea in the second session; however, he later got out for 101 runs.

Nasser Hussain lauds Shubman Gill

While speaking on Sky Sports, cricketer-turned commentator Nasser Hussain heaped praises on Gill after his brilliant ton in the match. Hussain feels that Gill has matured after captaining Gujarat Titans (GT) in Indian Premier League (IPL).

“They’re brought up on a lot of white-ball cricket, and they’re coming out of the IPL, so they know how to hit boundaries. But they got the balance right; they hit the bad balls for boundaries,” he said.

“Brilliant day for India. The message would be to go again tomorrow. [Shubman] Gill has matured a lot since he got the captaincy for the Gujarat Titans,” the former England captain added.

Notably, Gill was appointed as GT skipper ahead of IPL 2024 and has led the side in two seasons. Under his captaincy, the Titans reached the playoffs in IPL 2025.

Meanwhile, India are in a dominant position in the Headingley test. On the back of Jaiswal, Gill and Pant’s centuries, the visitors have crossed 450 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the first innings. Earlier, England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to field first.

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Vikas Singh Derek

Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.