Former India opener Wasim Jaffer believes Shubman Gill must alter his game and show some improvement if he wishes to bat for long at number three in the Test team, especially when playing in slow and low conditions.
Gill volunteered to bat at number three for the ongoing Test series against West Indies but hasn’t quite hit the straps at a position whose previous occupants were Rahul Dravid and Cheteshwar Pujara. In the Dominica Test, Gill’s first innings at number three yielded only six runs. In the first innings of the ongoing Test at Port of Spain, he could make only ten runs.
“Away from India in SENA countries, he’s a good choice as number three. But in slow and low conditions, he has to alter his game and improve on it. We have seen this in this series against West Indies, that he likes to play the ball on the rise. If you see the innings of Virat Kohli, he has respected the conditions.
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“Gill would have liked to go out and score runs, but respecting the conditions is something Shubman has to learn and understand. With time, he will surely do it, but in away conditions like South Africa and Australia, he will enjoy batting at number three, where the ball comes onto the bat at a faster pace. But when it doesn’t happen, that’s where he has to adapt and change his game a little bit,” said Jaffer, an expert for JioCinema, in a select virtual media interaction.
For long, Gill has been projected as the future leader of the Indian batting order across formats. It was anticipated for some time that he would be batting at number three or in the middle order in Tests whenever the transition period in the side is initiated. Jaffer felt a stroke player like Gill has to tighten his game whenever India plays in conditions where there isn’t much pace to offer.
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