ENG vs IND: Sachin Tendulkar Showers Praise on Shubman Gill, Says "No Weak Areas" in His Batting

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London, July 10: As India take on England in the third Test at Lord's, batting great Sachin Tendulkar has come out in strong support of India's young Test captain Shubman Gill, praising his temperament, technique, and growing stature as a leader.

Speaking to the BBC in London following the unveiling of his portrait at the MCC Museum, Tendulkar said he sees "no weak areas" in Gill's batting at the moment.

"He is batting exceptionally well, looks calm and composed, and appears in complete control. Invariably, the opposition tries to figure out weak areas they can target, but I don't see any right now," said Tendulkar, widely regarded as the greatest batter to have played the game.

Gill's Steady Start as Captain in England

Gill, who was appointed Test captain after Rohit Sharma stepped aside, has looked confident and purposeful in his first two Tests as leader. He entered an elite group of Indian captains to slam a ton in his debut Test with a knock of 147 at Headingley.

However, it was his marathon knock in the first innings of the second Test at Edgbaston - 269 - that truly captured the imagination. Battling testing conditions and a fiery English pace attack, Gill displayed classical control and patience, reminiscent of the very man now praising him. He scored 430 runs (269 and 161) across two innings in Birmingham, where India registered an emphatic victory to level the series.

Tendulkar's Red-Ball Brilliance and Record Against England

Tendulkar's own Test career needs no introduction. In a glittering journey that spanned 24 years, he scored 15,921 runs in 200 matches, including 51 centuries and 68 fifties - both still records. Against England in Tests, he amassed 2,535 runs in 32 matches at an average of 51.73, including seven centuries and thirteen half-centuries. His memorable 193 at Headingley in 2002 remains one of the most authoritative batting displays by an Indian on English soil.

"Batting and Captaincy Complement Each Other"

Tendulkar also emphasised that Gill's confident run with the bat is helping his leadership on the field. "Every batsman goes through ups and downs, and the game changes as well, the technique changes sometimes, and you need to keep sharpening all those loose ends and keep working on your game.

"But at this point, Shubman is looking in total control, and as far as captaincy is concerned, they both go hand in hand. So if you are batting well, you are calm and composed, and you lead the team better, you take correct decisions and vice versa. So both are complementary I would say.

As the third Test begins at Lord's, the venue of so many iconic cricketing memories, it is fitting that India's next-gen leader is drawing praise from the man whose own journey to greatness was sparked here back in 1983 - watching Kapil Dev lift the World Cup.