New Delhi, July 21 (IANS) Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has rallied behind skipper Shubman Gill’s leadership skills to bounce back from 1-2 down in the upcoming fourth Test at Old Trafford in Manchester.

Gill’s captaincy debut has been quite balanced for him in the tour so far. The scoreline might reflect the dominance of England, but the Indian side has been at its attacking best to give a tough fight. The narrow 22-run loss at Lord’s was the best example of India’s attacking approach on the tour.

With the fourth Test giving the final chance for the visiting side to bounce back, Manjrekar feels the break will allow Gill to reflect on his captaincy style and come out all guns blazing in Manchester.

“Gill is a young captain, and he has already surpassed expectations, both with the bat and as a leader. The scoreline might be close, but India has won a Test match, and that’s credit to how he has gone about it. This eight-day break comes at a perfect time for him.

“He has good people around him, and his father, more than anyone, would know what kind of personality Shubman really is, whether he’s a potential Virat Kohli or Dhoni, or somewhere in between,” Manjrekar said on JioHotstar.

“I’m guessing somewhere in between. He has to find his own path now, a path that enhances both, his leadership and his batting. And, if there is anything coming in the way of either, he’s got to quickly let go of it.

“In the first Test, he was leaning heavily on Rishabh Pant and others. In the second, he started asserting himself, and the results followed. Now, after this little setback in the third Test, we might see the best of Shubman Gill, the captain, in Manchester. Hopefully, we’ll also see the best of Shubman Gill, the batter,” he added.

India’s camp is marred by injuries to Arshdeep Singh, Akash Deep and Nitish Kumar Reddy, other than Rishabh Pant, who is recovering from a finger injury sustained during the Lord’s Test.

This comes on top of workload management concerns that have restricted Jasprit Bumrah to just three of the five Tests in the series. He featured in the first and third Tests and with an eight-day gap between for the fourth Test, India have suggested they are “leaning towards” playing him at Old Trafford.

–IANS

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