‘Un par dabaav badhta gaya aur vo strike rotate…’ – Former India cricketers slams Shubman Gill over his dismissal in first Test vs Eng

Former India cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Anil Kumble lashed out at Shubman Gill over his dismissal in the first Test match against England, which commenced on January 25 at the iconic Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium. Notably, the stylish right-handed batter has made just 23 runs from 66 balls, featuring just two fours with a poor strike rate of 34 against England.

However, Sunil Gavaskar questioned Shubman Gill about his shot selection in the game, which made him lose his crucial wicket at number three. The former India skipper claims that the young batter has been executing bad shots, which cost him his wicket. In addition, the legendary cricketer talks about where Shubman Gill is making mistakes in Test cricket as compared to ODIs and T20Is.

“What kind of a shot was he looking to play?’ One can understand if he was looking to play it in the air, but it was just a badly executed drive. He did all the hard work, and, then, played a shot like that. I think he is playing a bit too aggressively in Test cricket. There is a slight difference when you play Test cricket compared to T20I and ODI cricket. The difference is in the ball,” Sunil Gavaskar said during the commentary.

If Shubman Gill has to slot in that No. 3 role, like Pujara or Dravid, he will have to rotate strike: Anil Kumble

Meanwhile, Anil Kumble feels Shubman Gill has to learn to rotate strikes. Anil Kumble gives the example of Cheteshwar Pujara and Rahul Dravid batting at number three in Test cricket. In addition, the cricketer-turned-analyst talks about the importance of the rotation of strikes on spin-friendly pitches.

“Un par dabaav badhta gaya aur vo strike rotate nahi kar paaye. He will have to learn this. If he wants to bat at No 3, especially on Indian tracks where spinners will cause trouble, he will have to rotate strike. If he has to slot in that No. 3 role, like Pujara or Dravid, he will have to rotate strike,” Anil Kumble said on Sports 18.