"Give me IPL bowling or I retire" - Fans react as Shubman Gill departs for 34 runs in 2nd IND vs ENG TestÂ
Team India batter, Shubman Gill, lost his wicket in the dying stages of the first session of the second Test against England in Vishakapatnam on Friday, February 2. Veteran seamer, James Anderson, was successful in claiming the right-handed batter's outside edge to dismiss him for the fifth time in seven red-ball innings.
Gill, coming into the second Test under a great deal of pressure, had gotten off to a decent start on a relatively good batting surface. The right-handed batter was using his feet well against both Anderson and the spinners, and had scored a flurry of boundaries to get into the thirties and only needed to survive the last phase of the first session.
Anderson was consistent with his probing line outside the off stump and the marginal movement away from the right-handed batter did not help Gill's cause as he responded with a tentative poke. The chance off the outside edge was safely pouched by Ben Foakes behind the wickets, courtesy of a well-timed dive to his right.
Gill was heavily criticized for his poor display in the series opener in Hyderabad, which included a duck in the fourth innings, and his slump at No.3 continues with yet another below-par outing in the second Test.
Fans are far from pleased with the young batter's recurring low scores in the red-ball format and believe him to be on very thin ice. Here are some of their reactions on X (formerly Twitter):
Gill has not scored a Test fifty across his last 12 innings
Shubman Gill's last noteworthy red-ball knock came in the form of a hundred in the fourth Test against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in March 2023. Since then, he has been going through a very lean patch in Test cricket.
He was not among the runs in overseas endeavors like the World Test Championship (WTC) final, the Caribbean tour as well as the tour of South Africa in 2023. His plight has continued even in home conditions as he hangs onto his spot by a thread following a string of poor scores in the ongoing series against England.
Despite losing a wicket right before Lunch on Day 1, Team India have seemingly won the first session after piling on 103 runs at a good rate. Yashasvi Jaiswal has gone past fifty while Iyer has settled in well after coming in at No.4.
Will the young batter retain his place in the playing XI in the third Test against England? Let us know what you think.