'That was Pujara's place...' - Anil Kumble blasts Shubman Gill while pointing out injustice with Cheteshwar Pujara

Former Indian cricketer Anil Kumble opened up about the poor run of Shubman Gill in the Tests. He believes that the batter needs to be a lot freer and needs to come up with his own plans to tackle the spin going into the India vs England series.

The time is running for Shubman Gill in Test cricket. The batter has come under the firing line for his poor form and his place in the team is under the scanner. It was expected that he would set the stage on fire in the first Test against England. But that wasn’t the case.

Shubman Gill looked horrible with the bat in both the innings of the game. In the first innings, he looked stuck on the crease and couldn’t score freely as well and ultimately perished while playing a rash shot on 23. The second essay got even more worse for him as he bagged a golden duck and looked extremely dejected.

With other youngsters on the bench, Shubman Gill has received a lot of flak and there have been many calls to drop him. He recently decided to move to No.3 spot and the change hasn’t worked for him at all. The batter is yet to score a half-century since slamming a ton against Australia in earlier this year.

Anil Kumble believes that Shubman Gill needs to work on his game against spin bowling. He said that more than the skills, it will be about mindset for the young batter, and head coach Rahul Dravid needs to work with the youngster. Speaking to Jio Cinema, he explained:

“He needs to be a lot freer. He needs to score runs. He needs to come up with his own plan of action to tackle spin, because he has hard hands. It’s good for good surfaces where the ball is coming on nicely and the faster bowlers are bowling at you. But when the ball is turning, when it’s slow, you need to use your hands and control and check your shot

That’s something he needs to work on. It can’t be one flow all the time. Yes, four days before the next Test, can you work on your skill? I think it’s all the mindset. You can certainly work on your mindset, and you have the best possible person as the coach (Rahul Dravid) to manage that for Shubman Gill.”

He has been given the cushion perhaps even a Cheteshwar Pujara didn’t get – Anil Kumble on Shubman Gill

Anil Kumble further pointed out that Shubman Gill is getting a longer run at the No.3 spot which even veteran of 100 games Cheteshwar Pujara didn’t get. He went hard at the young batter, saying that in the position that he bats on, he needs to work on his game. He explained:

“He has been given the cushion perhaps even a Cheteshwar Pujara didn’t get, because although he (Pujara) has played over a 100 Tests, I keep coming back to him mainly because that was his place not too long ago. Pujara played in that World Test Championship final and post that, it’s been Shubman Gill, who’s been moving from the opener’s slot, and he himself wanted to bat at No. 3.”

“So, when you want to bat at No. 3 especially in India because you have that talent, you certainly need to work on your game. He has the skills, he is young and he’s learning, but he needs to do it in Vizag, otherwise the pressure will be on him.”

Shubman Gill is expected to retain his place in the team for the next Test against England. The match could be well and truly make and break for his Test career.