"Let’s not cast Shubman Gill aside and say he can’t play" - Kevin Pietersen defends out-of-form batter after poor showing in first IND-ENG Test
Former England batter Kevin Pietersen has defended the out-of-form Shubman Gill after an underwhelming performance in the opening Test against England in Hyderabad.
Coming off back-to-back poor Test series in the West Indies and South Africa, the 24-year-old scored 23 and 0 in the opener against England. The focus on Gill increased thanks to India suffering a shock 28-run defeat to fall 0-1 behind in the five-match series.
Speaking to Jio Cinema after the first Test, Pietersen opined that Gill would play the next Test at Vizag and admitted feeling a sense of joy watching the youngster bat.
"I don’t think you can get rid of somebody as quickly as one test match," Pietersen said. "He will definitely play in Vizag and let’s have a look and see how he prepares for the next Test. Let’s not cast Shubman Gill aside and say he can’t play. He can play. When you talk about feelings, he give me the feeling of sheer joy and delight when he walks out to bat. I want to watch him bat."
Despite his white-ball heroics, Gill has struggled in the red-ball format, averaging under 30 in 21 games.
Since his majestic 128 in the final Test against Australia at Ahmedabad last year, the Punjab-born batter has gone without a half-century in his previous 10 completed innings.
"There is a reason why he is batting at No.3" - Kevin Pietersen on Shubman Gill
Kevin Pietersen admitted that Shubman Gill's Test numbers are well short of what they should be for a batter of his caliber, yet remains confident of his potential.
The youngster began his Test career in style with a terrific tour of Australia in 2020/21 that saw India pull off a famous 2-1 series win. However, his form in the format has seen an alarming dip since, with the odd impressive performance.
"The average is not looking healthy and those numbers are a sight for sore eyes. You don’t want to look at them," Pietersen said. "But there is a reason why he is batting at No.3 it’s because of the kind of player that he is and what he can do. So I am not too bothered about two dismissals. What I would be bothered about is his performances in the second and third Test matches."
Pietersen also cited the example of the English side from the 2012/13 tour of India when they struggled in the opening Test but regained form to triumph.
"Let’s see where he goes, you are allowed to miss out on a Test match. When we came here in 2012, the whole team missed out on a Test match, but we came back and won the series. Let’s not write off a player because of numbers after one Test match," he said.
With Virat Kohli returning to the side for the third Test and the in-form Rajat Patidar waiting in the wings, Gill will have to score runs in the next match to keep his place in the XI.
The second Test will be played at Vizag, starting Friday, February 2.