Sourav Ganguly hails Shubman Gill's knock as ‘best innings in England’

Dubai: When Sourav Ganguly speaks about batting in England, India listens. The former captain, who once tamed English conditions with a hundred on debut at Lord’s, now sees a worthy successor in Shubman Gill — and he isn’t holding back the praise.

“An absolute master class from Gill. Just flawless,” Ganguly wrote on X. “One of the best innings I have seen in England in any era. So much improvement in the last few months. Probably opening was not his place in Test cricket,” he added, backing India to win the second Test.

Gill’s knock — a career-best 269 off 387 balls — frustrated England across nearly two days. With 30 boundaries and three sixes, it was the kind of innings that not only turned the tide in India’s favour but also silenced doubts about his role in the Test set-up. At stumps, England were tottering at 77 for three in reply.

The innings came just days after Ganguly criticised the team management over its selection decisions — particularly the exclusion of Kuldeep Yadav. The former India captain felt the left-arm wrist-spinner should have been picked alongside Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, both included for their batting depth.

Replying to broadcaster Harsha Bhogle’s comments on how India used to play two spinners in England during his time, Ganguly said: “I am not sure India are playing their two best spinners in this match. They will have to assess the situation as the series progresses.

“I had two great spinners — Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh — in the team. I used to stop the run flow on Day 1 of the Test and the two became dangerous as the match went ahead,” he added.

Ganguly also questioned the omission of Shreyas Iyer from the squad. With Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma unavailable, many had tipped Shreyas as a key middle-order contender — but he didn’t make the final squad.

“He has been playing at his best in the last one year and should have been in this team. The last one year has been fantastic for him. He isn’t the player who got left out. He is now scoring under pressure, taking responsibility, playing the short ball well. Although Test cricket is different, I would have had him in this series to see what he can do,” Ganguly told RevSportz.