Shubman Gill has been given the cushion perhaps even Cheteshwar Pujara didn’t get: Anil Kumble

In a conversation on ‘Match Centre Live’, at the end of the 1st Test against England in Hyderabad, Anil Kumble, former India cricketer, and Expert, JioCinema, and Sports18, spoke of Shubman Gill’s struggles and what he needs to get back to form, saying: “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. It can’t be one flow all the time. Yes, four days before the next Test, can you work on your skill? I think it’s all the mindset. You can certainly work on your mindset, and you have the best possible person as the coach (Rahul Dravid) to manage that for Shubman Gill.”

“He has been given the cushion perhaps even a Cheteshwar Pujara didn’t get, because although he (Pujara) has played over 100 Tests, I keep coming back to him mainly because that was his place not too long ago. Pujara played in that World Test Championship final and post that, it’s been Shubman Gill, who’s been moving from the opener’s slot, and he himself wanted to bat at No. 3. So, when you want to bat at No. 3 especially in India because you have that talent, you certainly need to work on your game. He has the skills, he is young and he’s learning, but he needs to do it in Vizag, otherwise, the pressure will be on him.”

Kumble also spoke on Kuldeep Yadav’s chances of making it to the playing XI in the second Test, saying: “I am not really sure whether you need a fourth spinner. But if India feels that they need only one fast bowler then having Kuldeep will certainly help. He will have variations but England will come and do the same things they did in Hyderabad. The wicket could be a turning one and we are expecting the pace to be quicker than this.

This was slow but it was a good wicket if you applied yourself. India certainly needs to buckle up with their approach to playing against spin because I felt the approach of a couple of batters wasn’t positive and even the footwork wasn’t what you expected. I also felt that they were certainly rattled by the way England approached their batting and with that, they have to come up with plans, some unconventional ones. They never tried any variations so that’s something I am sure they will be looking to do.”