Shubman Gill is undoubtedly one of the most talented cricketers of the present times but currently he is going through a lean phase which has affected the team’s performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 as well.
The Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting has advised the Indian batter Shubman Gill to trust his natural defensive technique and play with more freedom to achieve big scores in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy and other matches outside India.
After missing the first Test due to injury, Shubman Gill looked comfortable against the pink ball in Adelaide but couldn’t capitalise on his starts, scoring 31 and 28. In the third Test at the Gabba, he was dismissed for just one, edging a delivery from Mitchell Starc to gully.
Ricky Ponting stated, “I love watching him play. When you’re watching him bat and bat well, he looks as good as anyone in world cricket. But the numbers don’t really stack up, do they, away from home? I watched him a little bit in Adelaide, and it almost looked like he changed things up too much. Scott Boland was bowling, and he changed his guard, moved across to the off stump, presented his front pad to Boland, and got out to a full straight one.”
He further added, “If anything, he needs to back himself a little bit more, needs to back his defensive technique a little bit more here in Australia, and still find a way to be able to score and score quickly. When he’s generally scored runs anywhere around the world, he scores them in a nice, attacking mode. He’s almost to the point where he’s not thinking about getting out — he’s only thinking about scoring runs. If he goes in with that mindset and that attitude, then things could change here in Melbourne for him.”
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Ricky Ponting pointed out that it was this confident mindset that had helped Shubman Gill make a name for himself during the previous Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, with a memorable 91 at the Gabba. However, four years later, that remains his highest Test score outside the subcontinent.
The Indian skipper Rohit Sharma also spoke about Shubman Gill’s form in the press conference, saying that the team doesn’t want to complicate things for the young batter. Rohit added that, like other young players such as Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant, the team supports Shubman Gill to learn from his mistakes and improve on his own.
We certainly agree with Ricky Ponting and Rohit Sharma, what do you say?
