India batter Shubman Gill has come under the scanner for his cheap dismissals in the opening Test against England in Hyderabad, which the hosts lost by 28 runs to go 1-0 down in the five-match series.
Gill registered scores of 23 and 0 across the two innings. He didn’t look comfortable against the English spinners and was dismissed by debutant Tom Hartley in both innings.
Notably, Shubman has not scored a half-century in his last 11 Test innings and his recent low scores drew sharp criticism from the legendary India spinner Anil Kumble.
Speaking on JioCinema, Kumble said Gill has been given the kind of “cushion” that veteran Cheteshwar Pujara never got and the young batter must deliver in the second Test against England.
“He (Gill) has been given the cushion perhaps even a Cheteshwar Pujara didn’t get, although he (Pujara) has played over a 100 Tests,” Kumble said.
“I keep coming back to him (Pujara) mainly because that was his place (No 3) 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,” he added.
Shubman Gill is yet to leave a big mark in the longest format of the game, amassing 1063 runs in 21 Tests at an average of 29.53 with two hundreds and four half-centuries.
The right-hander started his Test career as an opener but after Pujara’s ouster from the side, he has been batting at No. 3 for India. Overall, he has scored 189 runs from 10 Test innings at one down with the best score of 47.
Kumble said Gill needs to work on his mindset and also adjust his technique slightly for the second Test, due to start on February 2 in Vizag.
“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 (in second Test), otherwise the pressure will be on him,” Kumble stated.
“He needs to be a lot freer, score runs. He needs to come up with his own plan 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. That’s something he needs to work on. It can’t be one flow all the time.”
But can Shubman Gill change his skillsets with just four days remaining for the second Test?
“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,” Kumble remarked.
Indian batters are known for playing spin better than others but they were below-par in Hyderabad, especially in the second innings.
Kumble suggested the Indians to think out of the box in the remainder of the Test matches.
“India certainly need to buckle up with their approach to playing against spin because I felt the approach of a couple of batters wasn’t positive and even the footwork wasn’t what you expected.
“I also felt that they were certainly rattled by the way England approached their batting and with that, they have to come up with plans, some unconventional ones,” he said.
Kumble also spoke on wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav’s chances of making it to the playing XI for the second Test.
“I am not really sure whether you need a fourth spinner. But if India feel that they need only one fast bowler, then having Kuldeep will certainly help. He will have variations but England will come and do the same things they did in Hyderabad,” he said.
(With PTI Inputs)
