Shubman Gill had a fantastic year in 2023, but since being demoted to No. 3 in Test cricket, he has gone through a rough patch. The 24-year-old batsman has not scored a half-century in his last 11 innings and has been under the radar of criticism for the way he played against England in the series opener at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad. .
The right-handed batsman was desperate to perform at Vishakhapatnam in the second Test match of the series as he was expected to Virat Kohli He will return to the team for the third test. Shubman Gill could be one of the players who will be dropped from the batting line-up once Kohli returns to the Indian team. Gill has been facing a poor patch of form since the ODI World Cup 2023, where he failed to score a single century in nine innings.
Several former cricketers and pundits have criticized the dismissal of Shubman Gill during the first Test. In the first innings of the first Test, Shubman went into a shell and came out while trying to play a delivery shot. In the second innings, the batsman scored a 2-ball duck and it came to debutant Tom Hartley, who took seven wickets in the match and won it for England.
Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, while speaking on ESPNcricinfo, pointed out the problems with Shubman Gill’s technique and said that the batsman needs to improve his defense if he wants to score runs consistently in Test cricket. Better defense is a necessity in any format of the game as it helps you deal with unplayable deliveries.
Sanjay Manjrekar advises Shubman Gill to do something about his defense
“Shubman Gill, how do you react to your failures? He needs to do something with his defense if he is to be the team’s prolific runner at Test level, both against swing and spin. This is a cause for concern and is something that will not be easily fixed. These are uncontrollable for the team management and the selectors.” Manjrekar said on ESPNcricinfo.
Shubman Gill again failed to convert a good start and was gone for 34 after making 46 deliveries as James Anderson again got his wicket. This was the fifth time that James Anderson got the wicket of Shubman Gill in Test cricket. It was a perfect delivery that managed to take the outside edge of Gill’s bat and Ben Foakes completed a stunning catch to dismiss the 24-year-old batsman.
India and England face off in the second Test of the five-match series at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Vishakhapatnam. India already lost the first Test by 28 runs and England leads the series 1-0. The hosts have not lost a test series at home since 2012, when Alastair Cook-led England defeated India 2-1. Since then, India have won 16 consecutive Test series at home and are looking to continue their streak by winning the 17th consecutive series played against England.