"You will find it difficult to get a place once Rohit Sharma comes back" - Mohammad Kaif on Shubman Gill
Mohammad Kaif has said that Shubman Gill needs to make his starts count or else he will find it difficult to retain his place in India's playing XI once Rohit Sharma is back in the mix.
Gill was dismissed for 20 in India's first innings of the first Test against Bangladesh in Chattogram on Wednesday, December 14. The Men in Blue ended the day at 278/6, an excellent recovery after being 48/3 at one stage.
During a discussion on Sony Sports, Kaif was asked about Gill being dismissed once again after getting off to a start, to which he responded:
"You were set and you are opening. You will find it difficult to get a place once Rohit Sharma comes back. He has not scored a single century. He has played 22 innings. He has a highest score of 91, he has reached there but not scored a century."
The former Indian batter added that Gill needs to take the blame for his dismissal, unlike Virat Kohli. He explained:
"As an opener, you want that once you are set, when you reach 20 or 30, you play a big knock. Virat Kohli got out at the start. We are saying it's okay because he couldn't judge the line but Shubman Gill was set, had played a lot of deliveries.
Shubman Gill in Tests:
Runs Dismissals
0-10 6
11-20 4
21-30 2
31-40 1
41-50 5
51-60 1
60+ 1
Gill played 40 deliveries and struck three boundaries before his dismissal. He tried to play a cheeky paddle sweep off Taijul Islam's bowling, only to get a top edge. The youngster was caught by Yasir Ali, who ran from first slip to leg slip to take the offering.
"He is in very good form" - Mohammad Kaif on Shubman Gill
Kaif highlighted that Gill has showcased his potential with his excellent performances in first-class and ODI cricket, elaborating:
"Shubman Gill is a good player. He has an exceptional record if we talk about first-class cricket, he has an average of 50, scores a lot of runs. He is in very good form as well and came here after consistently scoring runs in ODIs."
The cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by stating that Gill should refrain from playing innovative shots until he has mastered them. He observed:
"He is an attacking batter and does not like to play dot balls. He tries to invent a new shot when you bowl dot balls. The modern players play the lap shot he played but he will have to get perfection in his shots once he gets set. Overall, the runs are less if we see his track record in Test cricket."
Shubman Gill averages 30 in 22 inns in Tests, a total of 599 runs without a century. However, his first-class average is whopping 54 and India will continue to back their talent. Interestingly, VVS Laxman had 543 in his first 22 inns at an average of 27 and no hundreds. #BANvIND
Gill has aggregated 599 runs at a below-par average of 29.95 in 22 Test innings. It is a far cry from his first-class and ODI numbers, where he averages 53.24 and 57.25 respectively.