Former Indian World Cup winner Zaheer Khan feels that underperforming young batter Shubman Gill will be under pressure after a string of poor performances in red-ball cricket since the World Test Championship final against Australia but backs him to get more opportunities due to his skill set.
Shubman Gill was given a chance at No. 3 in Test cricket following underwhelming efforts as an opener on the West Indies trip last year. This occurred after the selectors opted to move on from the veteran Cheteshwar Pujara in red-ball cricket. The 24-year-old failed to make an impact in both innings against England, looking in awful form against the inexperienced England spinners.
Speaking on JioCinema, Zaheer Khan felt that Shubman Gill did not feel the burden in the first innings, but added that the young batter did not take advantage of the platform provided to him and feels that it duty of the No.3 batter to provide momentum to the innings.
“So I don’t think the pressure that you are talking about came to him even in the first innings in this match because of the class of batter he is, the way in which he bats, and the flow in which we know that he bats. It has been seen that that flow did not come in the first innings.
“There were some good platforms there. The platform was absolutely set for batting. So what does the number three batsman do? He takes that platform further and tries to improve that momentum,” Zaheer Khan said.
Shubman Gill was dismissed for 23 (66) in the first innings and failed to convert his start. He went into a shell and played defensively during his time in the crease, eventually dying while attempting to hit his way out. The Right-handed batter was dismissed for a two-ball duck in India’s second innings as they chased a difficult score of 231 runs.
I Don’t Think There Should Be Any Question About His Place In The Team – Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan believes that there will be pressure on Shubman Gill to perform in the upcoming matches, but the team management will continue to support him and provide him with opportunities.
“There is pressure on him, but you have to deal with it. As we say in cricket, a good player only emerges from pressure. The team will see Shubman in that way, the fans will see him in that way and the management will also see him similarly. So he will be given the chance. I don’t think there should be any question about his place on the team at this time. He will play at No.3,” Zaheer Khan added.
Shubman Gill has scored 173 runs at an average of 17.30 in his previous 11 Tests. His best performance during this period was a 36-run knock in India’s first innings of the Cape Town Test against South Africa.