India batter Shubman Gill recently caught the eyes of many after his successful knocks against New Zealand in the recently-concluded limited-overs series, and former South Africa captain Graeme Smith was impressed with how Gill has made his entrance at the international stage.
Gill had registered scores of 208, 40* and 112 in the three ODIs against the Kiwis, before going to score an unbeaten 126 in the final T20I against the Black Caps to help India clinch the series in the decider.
Gill, 23, has played 13 Tests for India so far, and has scored 736 runs at an average of 32. With the Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting in Nagpur from Thursday, there have been calls from some for Gill to replace KL Rahul as an opener of Tests. Notably, both Rahul and Gill had opened for India in the two Tests against Bangladesh in December, in the absence of injured Rohit Sharma.
“Gill definitely has got the talent and the ability. But for a player to develop, it’s often about figuring out your strengths and weaknesses. As an opening batter in Test cricket, you probably need a slightly better defensive game and work on how you leave deliveries and be aware of the channels you want to play your shots,” Graeme Smith was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
“Gill is too good a player not to be successful. I feel as he plays more Test matches, gains experience and learns about the longer version of the game, he will mature,” the South African added.
However, despite Rahul’s disappointing scores recently in Tests, Smith said it was hard to ignore the 30-year-old.
“That’s the problem in India. You have so much talent. How can you ignore KL Rahul? It’s not an easy call,” added the 42-year-old.
The upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be of added importance as the spot for the two finalists of the 2021-23 cycle of the World Test Championships (WTC) are at stake. Australia have also not won a Test series in India since 2004/05.
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