ENG vs IND 2025: Mark Ramprakash bats for Shubman Gill's inclusion in 'Fab Four'

Former English cricketer, Mark Ramprakash, felt that Shubman Gill possessed all the attributes as a batter to make his place in the 'Fab Four'. Ramprakash was in awe of Gill's temperament with the bat after he had amassed a 430-run aggregate during the recently-concluded second Test between England and India at Edgbaston in Birmingham.

Ramprakash was also impressed with the way the No. 4 batter established himself as the newly-appointed captain of a fairly inexperienced side, given the departures of Ravichandran Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and ace batter Virat Kohli.

“We have to pay testament to his stamina, his skill, and his hunger — not just for runs, but to set an example as the new captain of a young team. We are coming to the end of a period that has been dominated by the so-called Fab Four—Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson — and the search has been on for players who can take over. Gill has shown he can fill those boots and in a wonderfully orthodox style: he plays all formats and is brilliantly adaptable, but with a foundation of classic technique,” stated Ramprakash in a column for The Guardian.

The former cricketer also commented on how the additional burden of captaincy did not play a detrimental role when it came to the 25-year-old's performances with the bat, as the Indian team walked away with a comfortable victory by 336 runs against the Ben Stokes-led side.

“Captaincy can affect a player's form detrimentally, but it seems to have focused him, and his three highest Test scores have been made in the past three weeks. Two games into the series we have already witnessed something very special from Shubman Gill. In the second Test at Edgbaston, he produced a real rarity: an individual performance that defines and dominates a game,” he added.

Gill's remorselessness created the conditions for English collapse: Ramprakash

The ex-English top-order batter attributed England's top-order collapse in their first innings to the manner in which Gill had completely tired them out on the field. After Gill's magnificent double hundred, India ended their first innings on the second day, with less than a session for England's first innings, where they were three down pretty early in the innings.

“That fatigue affects batters' mental clarity and their decision-making; what to play, when to leave as well as their movement and their footwork. Reducing England to 25 for three at the end of the second day went a long way to deciding the match. As well as India bowled with the new ball, it was Gill's remorselessness that created the conditions for it to happen,” noted Ramprakash.

The third Test of the series between England and India will be played at Lord's. Gill & Co, having won the previous match by a convincing 336-run margin, will be aiming at building on the momentum generated and potentially take the lead by the conclusion of the contest.