Australian great Ricky Ponting believes India opener Shubman Gill’s overseas performance is not as strong as his domestic performance, but the former Australia captain believes the right-hander has a slightly different approach. I feel I can improve my fortunes in Australia by just making a change. Gill averaged 23.8 points in nine Tests played in England, Bangladesh, West Indies, South Africa and Australia. During the same period, he accumulated 1177 runs and scored 400 at home in 17 Tests at an average of 42.03. “I love watching him play. When I watch him bat and how well he bats, he looks like he’s as good as anyone in world cricket. But from home… At a distance, the numbers don’t stack up very well, do they?” Ponting said in the ICC review.
After his impressive performance at the Gabba in the 2021 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where he contributed a calming 91 runs to India’s historic series win, Gill will be just a century away from his homeland against Bangladesh in 2022. I scored a goal.
After missing the series opener in Perth due to injury, Gill returned with scores of 31 and 28 in Adelaide and just one hit in Brisbane. Ponting said his approach may have been too complicated in the opening round.
“I watched him a little bit in Adelaide and he seemed to be changing things up too much. Scott Borland was bowling and he changed his guard, moved to the off-stump, held his front pad out to Borland, Borland caught him ‘full straight and out,’ Ponting pointed out.
But Ponting said Gill could improve his bottom line by trusting his instincts rather than making major changes.
“If anything, I think he needs to back himself up a bit more and find a way to support his defensive skills a bit more here in Australia and still be able to score quickly.
“When he’s at home or scoring runs anywhere in the world, he scores in a great offensive mode, almost to the point where he’s not really thinking about getting out, just thinking about scoring runs.” “If he comes in with that mindset and that attitude, things could change here in Melbourne,” he said.
The fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Melbourne begins on Boxing Day with India looking for a win to keep their hopes of qualifying for 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