Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria reckons Shubman Gill needs to make the most of his chances. Gill got a chance in India’s playing XI in the third Test match against Australia at Indore but he could not take his opportunity.
Gill got off to a decent start in the first innings as he raced to 21 runs but was dismissed by Matthew Kuhnemann. Furthermore, Gill could only score five runs in the second essay and was dismissed when he tried to play a big shot against Nathan Lyon.
Gill was given his chance as he has been in terrific form in the limited-overs format but he is yet to take Test cricket by storm. The youngster has scored 762 runs in 14 Test matches he has played at an average of 30.48, with the help of four fifties and one century.
Meanwhile, Kaneria feels Suryakumar Yadav can be played in the final XI on such turning tracks as the right-hander has sweep shot in his arsenal.
“India’s batters will need to step up. Rohit, Kohli, Gill, Shreyas all need to score big. The team may even consider bringing in Suryakumar Yadav on such a track because he can play sweeps and reverse sweeps, which can be crucial on such tracks. They will need to think about what changes they can make to the team,” said Kaneria on his YouTube channel.
Kaneria believes Shubman Gill will be under pressure after playing a rash shot in the second essay against the Aussies.
“Shubman Gill will have the sword hanging on him now after his failure in Indore. He played a rash shot and coach Dravid was unhappy. When this happens, your place in the team comes under the scanner. At least KL Rahul was a bit unlucky in the way that he was getting out. Gill needs to improve and understand that he has to make the most of the chances given,” Kaneria added.
Meanwhile, India’s batting hasn’t been able to get going in the series and the former leg-spinner feels the batters need to deliver.
“Indian batting will need to click in Ahmedabad. You cannot depend on your lower order to bail you out every time. When will the likes of Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer score big runs? You lost the Indore game on the first day itself when you scored just 109 despite winning the toss and batting first,” said Kaneria.
The fourth Test match will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad from Thursday.
