After a long time, Team India is playing the Test series on home soil. Hyderabad organized the first Test and Team India faced a 28-run defeat in that match. England is leading the series by 1-0. Indian batters struggled to make an impact. Youngster Shubman Gill is continuously struggling to score runs. In the second inning, he walked away on a duck. After that match, former Indian cricketer and coach Anil Kumble evaluated Gill’s recent dip in form.
Gill’s Off Form:
Shubman Gill is a star young player of Team India. At such a young age, he rose through the ranks quickly. But in recent times, he has been struggling with the bat. Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain, has introduced Yashasvi Jaiswal to the Test squad, prompting a change in the batting order. Shubman Gill, who assumed the No. 3 position from experienced player Cheteshwar Pujara, hasn’t performed well in this key batting role. Gill has found it challenging to meet the anticipated performance levels as the No.3 batsman in Test cricket.
In India’s first innings, Gill was out for 23 runs, marking Hartley’s first Test wicket. Gill continued his streak of low scores in the first Test against England, managing 23 runs off 66 balls as the No.3 batter. In the second innings, Gill was dismissed without scoring, facing just two balls.
Shubman Gill assumed the No. 3 position during India’s tour to the West Indies but hasn’t managed to achieve a fifty-plus score since then. In the two Tests in South Africa, he only scored 74 runs, and in the two Tests against West Indies, he scored 45 runs.
Anil Kumble on Shubman Gill:
India faced a 28-run defeat against England in the first Test match. England is leading the series by 1-0. After watching Gill struggling to score runs, India’s legendary bowler Anil Kumble talked about that. He said, “He needs to be a lot freer. He needs to score runs. He needs to come up with his own plan of action to tackle spin because he has hard hands. It’s good for good surfaces where the ball is coming on nicely and the faster bowlers are bowling at you. But when the ball is turning, when it’s slow, you need to use your hands and control and check your shots.”
Later he added, “That’s something he needs to work on. It can’t be one flow all the time. Yes, four days before the next Test, can you work on your skill? I think it’s all the mindset. You can certainly work on your mindset, and you have the best possible person as the coach (Rahul Dravid) to manage that for Shubman Gill.”
On Cheteswar Pujara:
Cheteswar Pujara is a legendary batter for India in the longest format of cricket over the years. But due to off form, he has been out of the team for a long time now. Virat Kohli has withdrawn his name from the first two Tests. Rajat Patidar has replaced him in the squad. Pujara again missed out on a place in the Test squad. Kumble thinks Gill has to prove himself as the number 3 batter.
He said, “He has been given the cushion perhaps even a Cheteshwar Pujara didn’t get, because although he (Pujara) has played over 100 Tests, I keep coming back to him mainly because that was his place not too long ago. Pujara played in that World Test Championship final and post that, it’s been Shubman Gill, who’s been moving from the opener’s slot, and he himself wanted to bat at No. 3. So, when you want to bat at No. 3 especially in India because you have that talent, you certainly need to work on your game. He has the skills, he is young and he’s learning, but he needs to do it in Vizag, otherwise, the pressure will be on him.”
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