‘You will have to show skills there’- Former India wicketkeeper raises questions over Shubman Gill’s approach against England

India's defeat against England in the first Test at Hyderabad has put the shortcomings of the Indian Test team under scanner which were earlier disguised behind some exceptional performances by certain individuals. 

One such concern is the lack of form of India's upcoming batting talent Shubman Gill. In the past few months, he has been short of runs, especially in the Test format where he averages in the early 30s which is below par according to the Indian batting standards but still, the management is persisting with him as he is looked at as the next big thing and therefore the management is patient with him despite a poor run in Test cricket.

Parthiv Patel points out Gill’s technical flaw 

In the recently concluded Test against England, Shubman Gill looked the pale shadow of his pale self as got out of 23 and 0 in both the innings. Former wicketkeeper batter Parthiv Patel slams young batsman Shubman Gill's performance in the first Test against England. Gill only scored 23 runs in both innings, and Patel criticizes his cautious approach, saying he wasn't even attempting to score runs. India lost the match by 28 runs while chasing a small target.

Parthiv Patel said on Cineplex, "The way Shubman Gill was batting, especially the approach we saw in the first innings, he wasn't trying to play shots at all. If you don't try to score runs, international-level bowlers won't give you too many loose deliveries," 

Patel didn't just criticize Gill's lack of shot-making but also exposed a technical weakness of defending with "hard hands. He added, "You will have to show your skills there. It's fine if you are not hitting fours, you need to rotate the strike at least. If we talk technically as well, he defends with extremely hard hands. He needs to see how he can work on that.

India is trailing in the series by 0-1 and the 2nd Test is scheduled to take place in Visakhapatnam from 2nd February.