Indian team batting coach Vikram Rathour believes Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal have the potential to have a long-lasting career in all three formats as well. Although Gill has scored two tons so far in his career, he averages under 32. However, Rathour said that he will be the future of Indian batting as he is able to mix potential with hard work and temperament as well.
“He has a lot of potential, and he has reached that potential as well in other formats. He has also made runs in Test cricket. Sometimes it might take a bit of time in a particular format, and he is taking that time, but he has that time. The potential that he has, I have no doubt that he is the future of Indian team in batting. He will play for the Indian team for a long time, in all three formats,” said Vikram Rathour. “He is taking some time but the good thing is that there is no dearth of hardwork, he is working out on things. And along with potential he also has the temperament, which makes one a big player. Again, there’s no doubt that he’ll play all three formats for a long time.”
However, ahead of the first Test against the West Indies, Gill had a discussion with the team management, asking them to play him at No.3 – a position where the veteran Cheteshwar Pujara used to bat, and Rahul Dravid before that as well. While both Dravid and Pujara were known for their ability to steady the ship with defence, Rathour added that Gill is someone who can play the dual role of defence and attack, as per the team needs.
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“There are three openers in the team, so one had to go to No.3. But the good thing is that it came from Shubman himself, he said ‘I’ll like to go No.3’. His reasoning is that whenever he has played first-class cricket or for India, he has played at No.3 or 4. He feels that his right position in the longer formats is that. So we were all happy with that decision. After that discussion, Rahul [Dravid] and Rohit [Sharma] decided that it would be better for him to play at No.3. We won’t judge on one innings, he has a lot of time and surely he will do well for us in this position. Because he has the game for that. He can take his time and play, and he is a stroke-player as well who can move the game forward. Having such a batter at No.3 is extremely advantageous,” he again said.
However, Vikram Rathour was particularly impressed with the way young Yashasvi Jaiswal took to Test cricket in his very first game, scoring a fabulous 171 as well.
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“I’ve been a selector before, so whenever you pick a player you should pick him with the intent that he will play for India for the next 10 years. He definitely has the potential. For me the most important thing (even though) I haven’t worked with Yashasvi before, was that I had seen him scoring runs at the IPL, you saw how dynamic a batsman he is, the kind of stroke-player he is. But he managed to change the game according to the situation of the team. On the second day he scored some 20 runs off 90 balls before Lunch. I think that for me was the highlight of the innings. Somebody who is able to do that, who can play against his character, his normal game, get through that phase and then score big runs, it was phenomenal to watch. Absolutely no doubt that he has great potential and great future with the Indian team in all three formats,” Rathour concluded.
