Mohammad Kaif says Shubman Gill looked mentally tired after ODI series against Australia

Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif observed that Shubman Gill looked mentally tired in the three-match ODI series against Australia. Before this series, Gill had continuously played in five Test matches against England, Asia Cup and the two Test matches against the West Indies.

Gill was appointed as ODI captain, replacing Rohit Sharma at the helm but lost his first series as a leader against Australia by 2-1. The Indian skipper also failed to lead from the front as he could only manage 43 runs in three games at an average of 14.33.

Mohammad Kaif said on his YouTube Channel, “He has played a lot of matches lately. He has to open the batting and also captain the team in multiple formats. Then, there is the IPL captaincy as well. With the auction coming up, there will be calls with the Gujarat Titans for planning. There is a lot on his plate at once, and it seemed like it had affected his batting a bit. He looked mentally tired.”

On the other hand, the Natwest Trophy final hero added limited time behind the stumps for KL Rahul has slowed the wicket-keeper’s reflexes.

“He has been making mistakes. Actually, he does not keep wickets throughout the year. There is a different wicketkeeper in Tests, and he is not in the T20I team. He doesn’t keep wickets in those two formats, so you will be out of touch. So, it’s about the rhythm. Your reflexes are bound to slow down if you are not keeping wickets throughout the year.

“He kept wickets when there was a need to fit him in the playing XI, and Rishabh Pant was injured. Now we have Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant is fit, and Sanju Samson is there too. So, we must think about this as one mistake in a big tournament can cost you the match.”

Rahul scored a total of 49 runs in two innings against Australia.