IND vs SA: "Shubman Gill A Big Question Mark In Test Cricket"- Dinesh Karthik

Shubman Gill scored 2 and 26 in the two innings of the Centurion Test. India lost the first Test by an innings and 32 runs and lost another opportunity to win a Test series in South Africa. It was a sad batting display from the overall Indian batting lineup including Gill.

Barring Virat Kohli and KL Rahul none of the Indian batters were at ease in front of the South African bowlers. All of them knew the weakness of the Indian batters and exploited that brilliantly. Rohit Sharma scored 5 and 0 in the two innings.

Gill fended down the leg side from Nandre Burger in the first innings and was cleaned up by Marco Jansen in the second innings with a ball that came in and breached his defense. His back footwork was one of the prime reasons for his dismissal in the second innings.

Also Read: IND vs SA: Virat Kohli Surpasses Kumar Sangakkara In Elite List With 76-Run Knock In Centurion

Dinesh Karthik in a conversation with Cricbuzz blasted Shubman Gill for his lack of application in the first Test in Centurion. He said that after his recent knock, there will be question marks on his place in the side.

Shubman Gill Has Not Lived Upto Expectations: Dinesh Karthik

“Shubman Gill is the big question mark here. He has not lived up to the expectations that people have. I think even he would be aware that if you are going to average mid-30s or early-30s after having played 20 Tests, then you would consider yourself to be a bit lucky to be around. His place will definitely be under the scanner if he doesn’t have a great Test match in the next one,” Karthik told Cricbuzz.

Gill has been pushed to number three since the arrival of Yashyasvi Jaiswal in the playing XI. In 35 Test innings, Gill has 994 runs at a disappointing average of 31.06; his last 50+ score came in March earlier this year when he smashed 128 against Australia in Ahmedabad. Since then, in 7 innings, his highest score was an unbeaten 29 against the West Indies.

The veteran Indian wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik spoke about Sarfaraz Khan’s inclusion in the test side. He said how the talented domestic cricket has been waiting in the wings despite scoring heavily in international cricket.

“The only middle-order name that we are missing out on is Sarfaraz Khan. I have no doubt that he will make it to the squad much sooner than he thinks right now. Other than that, you do not have any other names doing the round in the middle order right now. Rajat Patidar is a very, very strong name that I think they will be looking at very soon,” said the wicketkeeper-batter.

Apart from Gill, the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer also did not score too many runs with the bat. With the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane not part of the Indian Test team anymore, the selectors have placed their faith in the younger generation to score in the longest format.

The second IND vs SA Test match will be played in Pace town from January 3-7 2024. India have dropped sixth on the WTC points table after the first Test loss after being fined and docked two WTC points due to slow over-rate.

Also Read: IND vs SA: Sunil Gavaskar Slams Team India For Not Playing Practice Games After 1st Test Loss