Aussie great Ricky Ponting believes Indian opener Shubman Gill’s overseas performances are not as strong as his performances at home, but the former Australian captain believes the right-hander can improve his performance in Australia with slight changes in his approach. Gill averages 23.8 across nine Tests in England, Bangladesh, West Indies, South Africa and Australia. During the same period, he made 1,177 runs and scored four hundreds in 17 Tests at an average of 42.03 at home. “I love watching him play. When you watch him bat and bat well, he looks as good as any player in world cricket. But the numbers don’t really add up, do they, away from home?” Ponting said this in an interview with The ICC Review.
Since his impressive performance at the Gabba in 2021 during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where his 91 helped India to a historic series win, Gill has scored just one Test century away from home, against Bangladesh in 2022.
After injury forced him out of the first match of the series in Perth, Gill returned with scores of 31 and 28 in Adelaide and just one run in Brisbane. Ponting said the opener may be overcomplicating his approach.
“I watched him a little bit in Adelaide and I thought he changed too much. Scott Boland was bowling, changed guard, walked up to the stump, showed Boland his front pad and Boland caught him. with a full straight,” Ponting noted.
However, rather than making any major changes, Ponting said Gill could improve his earnings if he trusted his instincts.
“If anything, I think he needs to back himself up a little bit more, needs to back up his defensive technique a little bit more here in Australia and still find a way to score and score quickly.”
“I’m sure when he’s at home or when he usually scores runs anywhere in the world, he scores them in a good, attacking manner and almost to the point where he doesn’t really think about quitting – he only thinks about to score runs. If he keeps that mindset and attitude then things can change for him here in Melbourne,” he said.
The fourth Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test in Melbourne begins on Boxing Day and India will be hoping for a win to keep their hopes of reaching the World Test Championship final alive.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article
Leave a comment