Following India's defeat in the Headingly Test, former England captain Alastair Cook believes Shubman Gill would have been a little "shell-shocked." India gave Ben Stokes and his team the advantage in the five-match series by letting them chase down 371, even with Jasprit Bumrah's fifer and five centurions. As England openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley scored 188 runs for the opening wicket in the last innings, the Indian attack lacked teeth.

India did attempt to recover, but ultimately, Joe Root and Jamie Smith guided the home team to victory with five wickets remaining. In the first innings, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, and Yashasvi Jaiswal all scored centuries, and in the second innings, Pant and KL Rahul each hit hundreds.

India had a lower-order meltdown in both innings, which gave England the opportunity to come back in the match. The visitors also failed in their fielding, as they missed more than five catches, including four by Jaiswal himself.

"Many people were seen out on the field making choices and participating in DRS calls, and they were all mistaken. Although you may read as many books about leadership as you like, there is no other sensation like being out there. In his column for The Sunday Times, Cook said that he thought Gill would have been stunned.

A more experienced captain may have considered, "We're 340 ahead and five down, let's put some pressure on England," during India's second innings. Regardless, they were bowled out with a lead of little over 370, but perhaps their position may have improved if they had attacked a bit more, he continued.

Jadeja might have bowled into the rough

Cook also criticized veteran Ravindra Jadeja, stating that the left-arm spinner could have been a little more aggressive. Only in the last session of the last day did Jadeja begin to throw into the rough; prior to that, his bowling was not very effective. Additionally, he took Ben Stokes's wicket. But throughout the day, England's opener Ben Duckett continued to reverse sweep him.

"Jadeja bowled in the way he could have done in India, whereas I would have thought he could have bowled a little bit slower into the rough. In that fourth inning, I felt for the India captain, Shubman Gill. I thought India might have experimented a little more. They might have tried bouncer warfare or given it a shot with a 7-2 offside field, Cook said.

To get Nitish Kumar Reddy into the playing XI, India may have to bench either Karun Nair or Sai Sudharsan in Edgbaston, according to the former England captain, who guided his team to a historic victory in India in 2012. This would also enable India to include Kuldeep Yadav.

"They may have to leave out either Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan and play Nitish Kumar Reddy, who can bat and also bowl some phantom seamers, and then they can play Kuldeep Yadav as an extra spinner," Cook stated.

Read Also: AB de Villiers Raises Concerns Over Jasprit Bumrah’s Workload Management, Cites Dale Steyn’s Example

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