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Shubman Gill should be less aggressive when batting in
Test matches, according to Sunil Gavaskar.
During the first Test match against South Africa in
Centurion, Gill suffered consecutive defeats. In the first innings, on a hot
opening day pitch, he was caught down leg trying to glance a wide delivery from
Nandre Burger. In the second, he attempted to play across the line but was
bowled out by Marco Jansen. His No. 3 scores were 2 and 26.
This meant that for the third year in a row, he ended
2023 with a Test average below thirty.
“I think he is playing a bit too aggressively in
Test cricket,” Gavaskar told Star Sports. “There is a slight
difference when you play Test cricket when compared to T20I and ODI cricket.
The difference is in the ball.
“The red ball moves a little more than the white
ball in the air and off the pitch as well. It bounces a little more too. He
should keep that in mind.”
His Test stats haven’t been all that great, despite
his excellent performances in the white-ball forms this year: 1584 ODI runs at
an average of 63.36 and a strike rate of 105.45, and 1202 T20 runs at an
average and strike rate of 44.51 and 154.30. On a flat Ahmedabad field, his
century against Australia was the only time he scored more over 30 in his ten
innings.
“Shubman Gill started off his career so well and
we praised his shots. We can only hope that he gets back into his form,”
Gavaskar said. “Hope he trains harder and does well in the future.”