"What kind of shot..." - Sunil Gavaskar blasts Shubman Gill after failure in 1st Test vs ENG

India and England are facing each other in the first Test of the five-match series at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. While batters like Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul have shown magnificent form, Shubman Gill, who recently won the Polly Umrigar Award also known as the BCCI’s Cricketer Of The Year award in 2023 could only manage 23 off 66 balls before getting out to debutant Tom Hartley.

Shubman Gill started the second day with his overnight score of 14 and was out for just 23 while trying to swat Tom Hartley but ended up playing it in the hands of Ben Duckett who was standing at the mid-wicket. Gill’s flop show continues as he struggles to find his form in the red-ball format. He has scored only one century in the longest format and that came last year during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar who was on commentary during the second day’s play, criticized the kind of shot that Shubman Gill was looking to play. He said that one could understand if the youngster was looking to play in the air but it was nothing but a badly executed drive. Gavaskar was disappointed at the fact that Shubman Gill did all the hard work to get set and then played a shot like that.

“What kind of a shot was he looking to play? One can understand if he was looking to play it in the air but it was just a badly executed on-drive. He did all the hard work and then played a shot like that,” the legendary opening batter.

Shubman Gill Is In Poor Form Since The ODI World Cup 2023

Shubman Gill has had a poor run of form since the ODI World Cup 2023. He had a terrific first half of 2023 and ended up being the top run-scorer of the year in the ODI format. The 24-year-old youngster had a terrific season in 2023 where he became the youngest cricketer to score an ODI double century and also ended up being the highest run-getter of the IPL 2023. However, since the World Cup, the fans witnessed a sudden dip in his form and he has been criticized for his inconsistency.

Coming back to the match, England batted first after winning the toss in Hyderabad on the first day. The Three Lions were bowled out for 246 runs in the first innings, as the Indian spinners were on fire. Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin picked up three wickets each. Japrit Bumrah and Axar Patel took two wickets each. Ben Stokes was the star for England with the bat as the skipper gave some late momentum in the innings with his 70-run knock.

India is currently leading, courtesy of the wonderful batting of Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja. Ravindra Jadeja took three wickets with the ball and is currently batting at 60*. KL Rahul missed on a well-deserved century as he got out on 86 off 123 while Yashasvi Jaiswal lit up the stage with his quickfire 80 off 74 balls smashing 10 fours and three sixes in his innings.