‘Shubman Gill Will Always Be Questioned’: India Skipper Given ‘Heavy Crown’ Reminder

Murali Karthik says Shubman Gill faces immense pressure to win the Sri Lanka Test series to revive his India captaincy, despite good batting form.

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Shubman Gill (C) of India during the Day 1 of the Only
Test match between India and Afghanistan at New International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh, India on June 6, 2026.

Photo: Deepak Malik / CREIMAS for BCCI

Murali Karthik believes that Shubman Gill will be under immense pressure to win the upcoming two-Test series against Sri Lanka to get his India captaincy tenure back on track.

Gill has led in nine Tests so far, winning five and losing three, including the 2-0 whitewash against South Africa, where he got injured in the first innings of the series. His ODI record has been poor, too, with defeats against Australia, New Zealand and England.

All this time, Gill’s batting form has been good, but he has been plagued by several injuries, from muscular strains to freak issues in his neck. There are not too many obvious captaincy replacements to put internal pressure on him in either format, but that doesn’t help the spotlight.

Speaking in a virtual roundtable press event organised by Sony Sports on Wednesday, Kartik expressed concerns about the spate of injuries, and said that Gill can’t escape this scrutiny, which is a byproduct of his ‘crown’.

“From a batting point of view, I’m not worried about Shubman Gill at all,” Kartik said. “He’s a class act; he’ll find a way to get runs. The most important thing is you want him fit. He’s been plagued by niggles—he starts a series and then misses a few games. Even in the warm‑up game he didn’t start. As a sportsman, you want to feel 100% with your body; if something is aching, you’re never able to give your 100%. As skipper, you’re as good as your last game, your last series, and heavy is the head that wears the crown, especially in Indian cricket. Shubman will always be questioned, whatever he does. There’s a lot of pressure on him and on this series because it’s crucial for India’s WTC chances,” he added.

India and Sri Lanka will play the first Test in Galle on August 15.

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Original source: https://www.news18.com/cricket/