Edgbaston Test: Australia's Haddin Urges Shubman Gill to Address Attitude After Fielding Woes Plague India's Loss

Former Australian wicketkeeper-batter Brad Haddin has urged India's newly appointed Test captain, Shubman Gill, to reassess his approach following India's recent five-wicket defeat to England in the opening Test match of the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy 2025 at Headingley.

India captain Shubman Gill under pressure to improve team performance.

The loss, despite India boasting five centurions throughout the match, has largely been attributed to a subpar fielding performance. The team's eight dropped catches across both innings proved costly, ultimately enabling England to successfully chase down a target of 371 runs.

India's fielding errors were particularly damaging in the case of England opener Ben Duckett, who was dropped in both innings and went on to amass 211 runs, including a match-winning 149 in the fourth innings. Duckett's stellar performance earned him the Player of the Match award and propelled England to a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

"Every great team, no matter what year you're playing, the one standout feature they've always had is that they've been a great fielding team. And I think that is one legacy Gill has start to leave now on this team. He needs an attitude adjustment," Haddin stated on the Willow Talk podcast.

The former Australian wicketkeeper also highlighted potential concerns arising from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, suggesting a correlation between the tournament and the declining fielding standards.

"If you want to field well and compete the whole time, it's only attitude. You can do all your technical work off the field and have as many coaches as anyone, but it won't matter. Even in the IPL this year, the catching was horrible. And that could be a byproduct," Haddin added.

The Indian team's lackluster fielding overshadowed their batting performance, where they managed to post competitive totals in both innings. The pace attack, despite being led by Jasprit Bumrah, struggled to make a significant impact and was further undermined by the dropped catches.

Team India is currently preparing for the second Test match, scheduled to be held at Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham from July 2-6, 2025. The team must address their fielding concerns to level the series.

England has already announced their squad for the second Test, with Ben Stokes continuing as captain. The squad includes key players such as Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, and Chris Woakes, as they aim to build on their advantage in the series.