ENG vs IND 2025: 'Could've been handled better' - Kumble on Gill-Crawley confrontation at Lord's

Former Indian cricketer Anil Kumble has backed Indian skipper Shubman Gill for confronting England opener Zak Crawley before Stumps on Day 3 of the third Test at Lord’s. Gill had a verbal exchange with Crawley, who was allegedly wasting time in an attempt to have Stumps called early.

While Kumble agreed that Gill was right to confront Crawley, he also suggested that the situation could have been handled differently. India went on to lose the third Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 by 22 runs at the Lord's. The former cricketer, however, praised Gill for his composed responses during the post-match press conference and noted that he did not blame the loss on any specific incident.

“Yes, I thought he led the team well. Yes, he didn't get runs. Unfortunately for him, the dismissal in the second innings would certainly hurt him. The confrontation was fine, but the manner perhaps could have been slightly different as a skipper. I am sure he will learn from these kinds of incidents. He is still young,” Kumble said on Star Sports show ‘Follow the Blues’.

“What I liked about Shubman was the press conference. I thought he handled the questions really well. He did not want to look at certain incidents as saying, 'this is what certainly changed the game.' He recognized the change happened because of the Rishabh Pant run-out, and that was a big moment. Let's realize that was a major moment for India's batting in the first innings,” he added further.

The veteran leg-spinner opined that Gill would be disappointed with his twin failures with the bat in the Lord’s Test, particularly his dismissal just before Stumps on Day 4. However, Kumble also noted that the 25-year-old would take heart from the way the Indian team fought throughout the match and would carry that confidence into the final couple of games of the tour.

“Shubman Gill would feel disappointed with his batting because he was in excellent form. He just had to survive that fourth day for him to just come and do what he does really well on Day 5,” the former India international opined.

“Otherwise, I think overall in terms of the way he handled the bowlers, maybe spinners early on in the first innings, but in the second innings, I thought he controlled the innings really well. He will be very happy with the way his team responded to the challenge. I am sure he will go confident going into the fourth and fifth Test matches,” he concluded on the issue.