Follow UsFollowing Rohit Sharma’s retirement from Test cricket, India appointed Shubman Gill as the captain in the longest format, despite his underwhelming Test record. While Gill boasts an impressive ODI average of 59.04, his Test average hovers just above 35, with notable struggles in SENA countries.
One of the primary concerns surrounding his batting is his tendency to lose patience and play overly aggressive shots—a trait that former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting believes could pose challenges for the new Indian captain. Ponting also noted that the added pressure of leadership might further impact Gill’s performance with the bat.
"His white-ball form has been incredibly good. He's got a little bit of work to do on his Test match batting. And that's never easy when you're a new captain - to have to worry about your batting to the degree that he's going to have to, it won't be easy for him,” Ponting told PTI.
"...it's a bit of both. There are some great Test players that haven't had great defensive games – [Virender] Sehwag is probably a great example of that. But if you're in control of your strokeplay, you don't have to worry too much about your defence. I mean, obviously, it's a big part of Test match cricket, but I think it's more his mental application.
“I think sometimes you might just get a little bit either ahead of himself or a little bit lazy in the middle of a Test-match innings. You can't afford to do that. You've got to be 100% committed to every ball that you face through six or seven hours of every day... I think that's the challenge for Shubman.”
With Virat Kohli’s retirement, India face a conundrum in restructuring their batting order. Shubman Gill will likely drop down from No. 3 to No. 4, with Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul and Sai Sudharsan occupying the top three positions. Ricky Ponting believes that India need an experienced batter at No. 3 and suggests that either Karun Nair or KL Rahul could be a suitable fit for the role.
"...the reason I did that was if they go with [Yashasvi] Jaiswal - and if Sai Sudharsan is the other opener - they need someone a bit more experienced at No. 3,” Ponting said. “So that could be either KL [Rahul] at three, or that could be a Karun Nair at three and Shubman at four… once you grow into it, then you can move yourself back up to that No. 3 spot."