The clock is ticking for India batter Shubman Gill who, at the moment, is struggling to buy a run in Test cricket. Touted to be the leader of India's next-generation batting line-up, Gill now finds himself buried under a tremendous amount of pressure. The voices to drop Gill gained momentum after the 24-year-old right-handed batter failed in the 1st Test against England in Hyderabad, scoring 23 runs and registering a duck in the two innings respectively.
Former India captain and coach, Anil Kumble believes that Gill has received a cushion from the Indian Team management which even out-of-favour veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara didn't get. It is important to note that Gill currently occupies the No. 3 position in the Indian batting line-up, which used to be Pujara's spot until the Saurashtra batter was dropped from the national side after the World Test Championship (WTC) final last year.
"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 on 'JioCinema'.
"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's recent struggles; Chesteshwar Pujara on run-scoring spree in Ranji Trophy
Over 21 Test matches, Shubman Gill has accumulated 1,063 runs with an average of 29.53, marking his journey with two centuries in 39 innings. Yet, his performance in recent times hasn't matched up to his known talent. In the latest 10 innings of his Test career, Gill has only added 160 runs to his name, a tally that doesn't quite capture the full extent of his abilities as a batter.
In the meantime, Pujara has continued to score heaps of runs in domestic cricket, including a resounding double century he registered recently while playing for Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy.
Anil Kumble offers advice to struggling Shubman Gill
Kumble is affirmative about the increasing pressure on Gill and the legendary spinner believes that if the 24-year-old fails to give a good account of himself in the 2nd Test against England in Visakhapatnam then the pressure will mount even more.
Kumble also suggested certain tweaks that Gill could make in his game to succeed on slow and turning Indian pitches where stroke-making is slightly more challenging than fast-paced strips.
"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," he observed.
"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.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," the former Indian captain added.
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