Shubman Gill, the promising young Indian batter, is under scrutiny following another batting failure in the first Test against England. Scoring just 23 runs in the first innings and falling for a duck in the second, Gill’s struggles at the crease continue. In his last 11 innings, Gill has failed to score a fifty after his impressive 128 against Australia in the Ahmedabad Test last year.

Despite making his debut in 2020 and playing 21 Tests, Gill’s average stands at 29.52, with two centuries and four half-centuries to his name. Anil Kumble, the legendary Indian spinner, believes that Gill needs to refine his approach against spinners, as his current tactics seem more suited to pace-friendly pitches. Speaking on JioCinema, Kumble emphasized the importance of Gill being more assertive and developing his strategy to counter-spin effectively.

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“He needs to be a lot freer. He needs to score runs. He needs to come up with his own plan of action to tackle spin, because he has hard hands. It’s good for good surfaces where the ball is coming on nicely and the faster bowlers are bowling at you. But when the ball is turning, when it’s slow, you need to use your hands and control and check your shots. That’s something he needs to work on,” remarked Anil Kumble.

Shubman Gill, who initially started his Test career as an opener, has shifted to the No. 3 position following Cheteshwar Pujara’s omission from the squad. Anil Kumble noted that Gill has been afforded more opportunities than Pujara and stressed the importance of capitalizing on these chances.

While acknowledging Gill’s talent and potential, Anil Kumble emphasized the need for improvement, especially in the upcoming Test match in Vizag. With Rahul Dravid as the coach, Kumble believes Gill has the guidance to enhance his skills and mindset.

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“He (Gill) has been given the cushion perhaps even a Cheteshwar Pujara didn’t get, because although he (Pujara) has played over a 100 Tests, I keep coming back to him mainly because that was his place not too long ago,” Anil Kumble said.

The pressure will be on Gill to perform in the second Test starting from February 2 in Vizag, as India seeks to bounce back after their defeat in the series opener against England.