Anil Kumble Says Shubman Gill Got the Cushion Even Cheteshwar Pujara Didn’t Get

After failing with the bat once again, Shubman Gill is under pressure. Gill scored 23 in the first innings of the first Test match against England, which ended with India losing, and a two-ball duck in the second.

In the eleven innings after his 128 against Australia in the Ahmedabad Test last year, Gill has not made fifty runs. The youthful player, who made his Test debut in 2020, has since participated in 21 matches and amassed 1063 runs at a pace of 29.52, with two centuries and four half-centuries.

Gill has to figure out how to handle the spinners, according to Indian spin veteran Anil Kumble, whose current strategies are more suited for surfaces with plenty of speed.

Gill needs to have much more freedom, according to Kumble on JioCinema. “He has to score some runs. His hands are too firm for spin, so he has to devise a strategy of his own. When the ball is coming on beautifully and the quicker bowlers are batting at you, it works well. But you have to use your hands to control and double-check your strokes when the ball is twisting or moving slowly. It is an area that requires his attention.

It cannot always be one flow. Yes, you are able to practice your skill four days prior to the next test. All about the attitude, in my opinion. You can definitely improve your thinking, and Rahul Dravid is the ideal coach to help you with that for Shubman Gill, he said.

Gill started his Test career as an opener, but he has since switched to his favored no. 3 position when Cheteshwar Pujara was cut from the team.

Kumble believes that Gill has been given a longer rope than Pujara.

After India’s defeat by Australia in the final of the ICC World Test Championship, Pujara, a veteran of 103 Tests, was left out of the starting lineup.

“Even though Cheteshwar Pujara has played more than 100 Tests, he (Gill) has been given a cushion that perhaps not even Pujara received,” Kumble said. “I keep coming back to him mainly because that was his place not too long ago.”

“Shubman Gill has been batting at number three since Pujara’s World Test Championship final, and Pujara himself desired to bat at that position. You must thus improve your game if you want to bat at No. 3, particularly in India where you possess that skill. He is young, talented, and learning, but he has to complete the task in Vizag to avoid facing undue strain,” he said.

In Vizag, the second Test of the series begins on February 2.