Former India head coach Anil Kumble has warned young batsman Shubman Gill about his future in Test cricket in a constructive way.
Kumble stated that Gill's place in the Indian Test XI might not be safe for too long if he fails to deliver.
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In the first Test against England, which began on January 25 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, Gill scored 23 & 0 in the two innings as India slumped to a pride-hurting 28-run defeat to fall 1-0 behind in the series.
Gill has once again come under the radar for his disappointing run of form in Tests, which has now seen him go nine innings without scoring a half-century or century.
MORE: Shubman Gill's terrible form in Test cricket explained
What did Anil Kumble say about Shubman Gill?
Kumble assessed Gill's troubles in red-ball cricket, especially after he started playing at the No.3 position after the arrival of Yashasvi Jaiswal on to the scene.
While Jaiswal has played well in the five Tests of his career, Gill has found the going extremely tough, with his struggles compounding with every passing Test.
Speaking on JioCinema as part of the broadcasting team, Kumble kept it simple and said that Gill needed to score big.
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.
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
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'Even Cheteshwar Pujara didn't get the cushion Shubman Gill has been given' - Anil Kumble
Kumble went further and compared Gill with his predecessor in the No.3 role, Cheteshwar Pujara, stating that the Saurashtra batsman didn't get as many second chances as Gill has been given by the team.
He has been given the cushion perhaps even a Cheteshwar Pujara didn’t get, because although he [Pujara] has played over a 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.
What next for Shubman Gill?
Gill will be keen to put his troubles in Test cricket behind him and turn up in the second Test against England with the sort of performance we all know he is capable of producing.
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