Former India cricketer raises concerns on Shubman Gill's performance in Test cricket

There has been a lot of criticism from experts and fans on the performance of the Indian team in the first Test vs South Africa at Centurion. India faced defeat by an innings and 32 runs against the Proteas, ruining their chances of finally winning a Test series in South Africa. India managed to get to a total of 245 in the first innings on account of a beautiful century by KL Rahul, but the hosts replied with a mammoth score of 408 on the back of a magnificent century by Dean Elgar and a few good knocks from David Bedingham and Marco Jansen. South Africa in the end, did not have to play a second innings as they bundled out the India batters for just 131.

After this disappointing Test, a lot of Indian players were criticised for the way they approached this game. One of the players who has been getting a lot of criticism is the young India star Shubman Gill who also had a disappointing game with scores of 2 and 26. Gill has a great record in ODI’s and some decent numbers in T20I’s but his Test form recently has been underwhelming. Gill in his 19 Test matches has managed 994 runs at a below-par average of just above 30 which does not match the class and standard he had set for himself at the start of his career.

Aakash Chopra’s concerns

Former India Test opener Aakash Chopra has also shown his concerns while talking on Jio Cinema from a technical standpoint saying “Gill was impressive in the series against Australia when India toured, and looked like a player for the future. He's batted well in ODIs which is his favourite format and has done modestly in T20s. In Tests, against England, New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies, I don't think he has performed well. So, there is a question mark." Chopra supported his statement by bringing up Gill’s technique as well which he says is the reason for him not performing in challenging conditions.

“He started as an opener. Then he batted at No. 3. Eventually, he wants to bat at No. 4 is what I feel. But he needs to start scoring runs. There's a slight technical deficiency in his batting, too. He's a player who likes to play mostly with his hands and does not rely mainly on his feet. So, this approach may suit flat pitches and white ball cricket. But that does not work in Test cricket.” This statement which is said to be a concern by Chopra’s standards can be rectified, but making changes to any player's style has led to problems as well. To get his Test career on the money Gill has to make some adjustments to his game and not his natural style.