Shubman Gill bound to fail? Ricky Ponting warns India Test captain before England tour

Former Australian skipper Ricky Pointing pointed out the areas where Shubman Gill has to work on to become a successful batter in Test cricket. Gill has shown his potential in white-ball cricket but is yet to show his skills in the red-ball format.

Shubman Gill has been named as the new skipper for India in the red-ball format and will lead the Indian side in the upcoming England tour.

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Ricky Ponting suggests Shubman Gill to bat at 4

Ricky Ponting reckoned Shubman Gill to move down to the number four position. Many experts have suggested Gill to bat at number four following the retirement of Virat Kohli, and like everybody, Ponting also backed Gill to replace Kohli at the number four slot.

Ponting praised Shubman Gill’s white-ball career but advised him to work more on his batting in Test cricket. It will not be easy for Gill to bat at the new position when he’s appointed as the new skipper.

"His white ball form has been incredibly good. He's got a little bit of work to do, on his Test match batting. And that's never easy when you're a new captain, to have to worry about your batting to the degree that he's going to have to, it won't be easy for him," Ponting told PTI.

Pointing also believed that Gill is the right choice for the captaincy, and India made the right investment in Gill as the future star.

Ricky Ponting was impressed with Shubman Gill’s captaincy

In the last Test match of India vs Australia in 2024-25, when Rohit Sharma didn’t play the last Test, Ponting wanted Gill to replace Rohit as skipper in the last Test match.

"I actually named him as captain for the Sydney Test match last summer when Rohit didn't play that game and there was a bit of an injury cloud over Bumrah, or as that game went on, Bumrah actually broke down in that game.

Gill has taken his franchise to the IPL playoffs this season and was the fourth-highest run-getter in the tournament.

Ricky Ponting wants Shubman Gill to work on his defence and mindset

Ricky Ponting advised Gill to work on his defensive technique and the mental side of batting in Test cricket. Gill is a stroke player, but defence plays a big part in Test cricket.

"I think sometimes you might just get a little bit either ahead of himself or a little bit lazy in the middle of a test match innings. You can't afford to do that. You've got to be 100 per cent committed to every ball that you face through six or seven hours of every day, I think that’s the challenge for Shubman,” Ponting added.

Ponting also felt that there was no flow in Gill’s batting technique, but to play in the SENA conditions, Gill had to work on his mindset to play marathon innings in Test cricket.