Sanjay Manjrekar believes Shubman Gill needs to prove himself in red-ball cricket and contribute with the bat to secure his place in the Test team. Manjrekar’s comments came after Gill’s poor performance in the first innings of the first Test between India and South Africa at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. Shubman Gill is yet to show his potential in the red-ball circuit.
Sanjay Manrekar said there is no doubt that Shubman Gill is a class player and hailed the new Gujarat Titans captain as the “real deal”. However, he urged the 24-year-old batsman to be more consistent and score big runs in Test cricket.
Shubman Gill was sent off after a delivery aimed towards the leg side by South African debutant Nandre Burger. Shubman Gill, who came on at number 3, passed the ball to the goalkeeper, without disturbing the scorers much on a cloudy morning in Centurion. India lost three wickets, including those of openers Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal, in the first hour of the opening day’s play.
Shubman Gill’s last big score in red-ball cricket came during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in March 2023, when he scored 128 in the final Test of the 4-match series against Australia in Ahmedabad. Since then, he has failed to cross the 30-run mark in six innings that included the WTC Finals and the two-match series against the West Indies.
Shubman Gill started his Test career as an opener but had to adjust his place and bat at number 3 from the West Indies tour as the Indian team management wanted Yashasvi Jaiswal to open the innings for India in red ball . Gill last opened for India in Test cricket during the WTC Finals.
Shubman Gill has not replicated his ODI success in Test cricket.
“He’s the real deal. There’s a class there. Someone who scores 90 in his first Test match in foreign conditions against a good attack, he’s got to have class. Now, finally, it’s time to deliver, right?” Now it’s all about runs. And his average right now is in the 30s. He’s been around for a while. The thing about India is that they have batting competition,” Manjrekar told Star Sports.
“Shubman Gill has to keep getting runs. If you watch his performances in T20, you will know that he will have serious competition there. I think they will support him more in Test cricket, but the numbers have to keep coming. At the moment, Gill seems entrenched and established in the 50+ format. In the other two formats there is work to do, but as far as classes go, he is the real deal,” he added.
Shubman Gill has failed to replicate his ODI success in Tests, scoring two centuries and four half-centuries in 34 innings in a career that has spanned over 3 years. In the last three years, Gill has not averaged more than 30 in tests. He is starting to worry the team management as India needs solidity at No. 3, a spot occupied by Cheteshwar Pujara for a long time.
Despite the collapse of the top order, India stalled their way to 208/8 riding on KL Rahul’s unbeaten 70. The first day saw 59 overs of play when rain and poor light caused disruptions leading to an early end to the first day at Centurion.