Since Shubman Gill has not scored a century in any of his 22 career innings, former India batter Mohammad Kaif believes that he has not been able to play to his full potential in Test cricket. The gifted opener was dismissed on 20 in the first innings of the first Test against Bangladesh without making a significant contribution.
Shubman was given a spot in the starting lineup after skipper Rohit Sharma was ruled out from the first Test due to a thumb injury. When Rohit returns to the side, according to Kaif, Shubman won’t be given a spot in the starting lineup.
“You were set and you are opening. You will find it difficult to get a place once Rohit Sharma comes back. He has not scored a single century. He has played 22 innings. He has a highest score of 91, he has reached there but not scored a century,” Kaif said on Sony Sports.
According to Kaif, it’s crucial for an opener to turn a strong start into big scores, but Shubman was unable to do so on Wednesday. “As an opener, you want that once you are set, when you reach 20 or 30, you play a big knock. Virat Kohli got out at the start. We are saying it’s okay because he couldn’t judge the line but Shubman Gill was set, had played a lot of deliveries,” he added.
The 22-year-old has an outstanding record in first-class cricket, the former cricketer noted, and he consistently scores well in the few opportunities he has had to play in ODIs. “Shubman Gill is a good player. He has an exceptional record if we talk about first-class cricket, he has an average of 50, scores a lot of runs. He is in very good form as well and came here after consistently scoring runs in ODIs,” Kaif said.
Shubman appears to play aggressively, according to Kaif, who also advised him to execute his shots properly after spending time in the middle. “He is an attacking batter and does not like to play dot balls. He tries to invent a new shot when you bowl dot balls. The modern players play the lap shot he played but he will have to get perfection in his shots once he gets set. Overall, the runs are less if we see his track record in Test cricket,” he added.
