Vikram Rathour urges under-fire Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer to play with intent against England in 2nd Test

India batting coach Vikram Rathour expressed his confidence in struggling Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer ahead of the second Test against England. He said that there are young batters in the team who haven’t played much Test cricket and they need to be patient with them. 

Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer have been the talk of the town for their struggles in Test cricket. The duo hasn’t cracked Test cricket yet and has bagged a series of low scores, which has raised a lot of questions about their place in the team in the longest format of the game. 

Both Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer are touted as the future of Indian cricket and with the kind of potential they possess, they surely have failed to live up to the expectations. It’s not that they have failed in one or two innings, the duo since the last 10 innings are yet to fire. 

Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer failed miserably in South Africa and it was expected that they would do better in home conditions. However, they didn’t have a great outing in the first Test against England and failed in both the innings, leading to more backlash. 

While Shubman Gill returned with scores of 23 and 0 in two innings, Shreyas Iyer managed 35 and 13 in the first Test. All the eyes will be on them in the second game, which will be played in Vizag from 2nd February. The match no doubt could be make or break for them. 

Vikram Rathour believes that Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer will start getting big runs. He said that he wants youngsters to play with intent but they need to understand the difference between playing with intent and playing attacking cricket. Speaking to reporters, he explained: 

“There are young batters in our team who have not played much Test cricket. So, we need to be a bit patient with them. Batters like (Shubman) Gill, (Yashasvi) Jaiswal and (Shreyas) Iyer will eventually start getting big runs, I’m sure of it. 

“There’s a difference between playing with intent and playing attacking cricket. I want them to play with intent. If there is the opportunity to score some runs, they should take it. They need to decide by looking at the surface and conditions. So, the batters need to possess that intelligence as to which is the best or safest shot on the surface.” 

They need to score runs by playing their shots – Vikram Rathour on Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer 

Vikram Rathour further said that youngsters in Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, and Yashasvi Jaiswal should’ve batted with more discipline in the first game. He also mentioned that they need to back up their strengths and find their own way of scoring. He explained: 

“Could they have batted with more discipline? Maybe they could have. That’s what they need to decide and come up with their plans. 

“But, they need to score runs by playing their shots, as you need to back your strengths. Batting is always about scoring runs. It’s not about not getting out but how many runs you put on the board.” 

India suffered a disappointing 28-run loss in the first game in Hyderabad. They had the game under their grasp in the first innings but couldn’t carry on the momentum in the second essay. They would be eager for a win in the second game and level the series 1-1.