Haddin Urges Gill to Address 'Attitude' Issue Amid India's Fielding Woes Ahead of Edgbaston Test

Former Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has urged India's new Test captain, Shubman Gill, to address his attitude following India's recent defeat to England in the first Test of the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy 2025 at Headingley. The five-wicket loss, despite India's strong batting performance, has raised concerns about the team's fielding.

India captain Shubman Gill (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Fielding Woes Plague India

India's defeat was largely attributed to a lackluster fielding display. The team dropped eight catches across both innings. This allowed England to chase down a target of 371 runs successfully. The dropped catches proved particularly costly in the case of England opener Ben Duckett. He was dropped in both innings and went on to score 211 runs, including a match-winning 149 in the fourth innings. Duckett's performance earned him the Player of the Match award and helped England take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Haddin's Critique: Attitude is Key

"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.

Haddin also pointed to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 as a potential factor in 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.

Edgbaston Test Looms

The Indian team's poor fielding overshadowed their batting performance, where they managed to post competitive totals in both innings. The pace attack, despite having Jasprit Bumrah, struggled to make an impact and was further hampered by the dropped catches.

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

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