"Too much pressure": Shubman Gill breaks down, makes embarrassing confession about red-ball failures

The 25-year-old India National Cricket Team top-order batsman Shubman Gill has opened up on his struggles in red-ball cricket.

Shubman Gill openly admitted that the red-ball batting is a huge concern for him at the moment and he also spoke about his weak tendency.

Also Read: World record alert: Tilak Varma achieves unbelievable feat in T20I cricket with sensational knocks

Shubman Gill recently hit a ton in the Ranji Trophy

The performances of Shubman Gill in red-ball cricket have not been up to the mark. He is looked at as the future superstar and skipper of the team, but the failures of the youngster have raised serious doubts over his place in the team.

Shubman Gill has got great numbers in ODI cricket and his stats in T20I cricket are also decent. However, his numbers in red-ball cricket are poor, considering he bats at the No.3 spot - a position he took over from Cheteshwar Pujara, where consistency is extremely important.

Gill's inability to play long innings in Test cricket led to the batter facing heavy criticism during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, and many called for his axing. In BGT, the right-handed batter played 3 matches, registering scores of 31, 28, 1, 20, and 13. Overall, he has scored 1893 runs in 32 Tests at an average of 35.05, with 5 tons and 7 fifties.

Meanwhile, Gill recently made his return to the Ranji Trophy after being ordered by BCCI, and he failed miserably in the first innings of the Punjab vs Karnataka clash, scoring 4 runs. However, in the second innings, he bounced back to slam a brilliant 102 runs.

Red-ball batting is a concern - Shubman Gill

Speaking after his losing efforts in the Ranji Trophy match, Shubman Gill made an admission of having developed a tendency to lose focus after scoring 25-30 runs in red-ball cricket.

"Red-ball batting is a concern. Sometimes, I think with the red ball, in the matches that I play, I get very good 25-30 runs. I think in those moments, sometimes I put too much pressure on myself to be able to score big runs. I think that is not the way that I have grown up playing my game," Gill said.

Gill reckoned that he puts himself under too much pressure at times, which leads to him losing his focus and concentration. He stated:

"There is a certain zone that I am in, certain intent that I am in and sometimes I think I lose that because I put too much pressure on myself that I have to get a big run now that I am set. I think in those crucial moments, I sometimes lose my focus and concentration. I think it keeps you in the game all the time."

I think this innings was very satisfying for me, the way I played - Shubman Gill

Gill further expressed satisfaction over his performance with the bat in the second innings of the Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka. He added that getting runs at any level is important as it fills a player with confidence.

"I think any innings that we play at any level, it's very important to be able to get runs, get back in form and have that feel. When you are playing well, when you are in that zone, it's important to stay in that zone as long as possible and that's what I was trying to do when I was batting there," he said.

"I think this innings was very satisfying for me, the way I played. The first, I think, in 130 balls, I scored 40-odd runs, and they were bowling well and there was some help in the wicket as well. So, keeping that in mind, I think I was very satisfied with the way that I was playing.

"After the lunch, I just thought to play a little bit more of my shots. Also, the wickets were falling from one end. So, I wanted to make sure that I am getting some runs as well, playing some shots."