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In his last 11 Test innings, the 24-year-old Gill has not scored a half-century. In March last year, he scored over a century in India’s first innings against visiting Australia in Ahmedabad, but since then, his best score has been 36.
In the first Test match in Hyderabad against England, which India lost by 28 runs on Sunday, Gill scored 23 and 0 in the two innings.
“He (Gill) has been given the cushion that maybe even Cheteshwar Pujara didn’t get, even though he (Pujara) has played more than 100 Tests,” Kumble said on ‘JioCinema’.
“I keep coming back to him (Pujara) mainly because that was his spot (No. 3) not long ago. Pujara played in that World Test Championship final and after that, it’s been Shubman. Gillwho has been moving up from the opener’s spot, and he himself wanted to bat at No. 3.”
After his last Test match, which was against Australia in the final of the World Test Championship in June 2023, the 36-year-old Pujara was ignored. Earlier last month, he scored a double hundred (243 not out) in a Ranji match. Before the start of the England series, the Indian captain Rohit Sharma stated that preference was being given to younger players to look to the future.
Kumble stated that Gill needs to improve his mentality and make some minor technical adjustments for the second Test, which begins on February 2.
“So when you want to bat at number 3, especially in India, because you have that talent, you certainly need to work on your game. He has the skills, he is young and he is learning, but he needs to do it in Vizag. (in the second Test ), otherwise the pressure will fall on him,” he observed.
“He needs to be a lot freer, score runs. He needs to come up with his own plan to deal with the effects, because he has hard hands.
“He’s good for good surfaces where the ball comes in well and the faster players bowl to you. But when the ball spins, when it’s slow, you need to use your hands, control and control your shots. That’s something he needs to work on. “It can’t be a flow all the time.”
But can Gill change his skills just four days before the next test?
“I think it’s all about mindset. You can certainly work on your mindset and you have the best possible person as a coach (Rahul Dravid) to manage that for Shubman Gill,” he said.
Although Indian batsmen are famous for their superior spin play, England outclassed them in this first Test match. In the remaining games, Kumble urged the Indians to think creatively.
“India certainly needs to buckle up with their approach of playing against spin because I felt the approach of a couple of batsmen was not positive and even the footwork was not what I expected.
“I also felt that they were certainly bewildered by the way England approached their batting and with that, they have to come up with plans, some unconventional,” he said.
Kumble also talked about the likelihood of the wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav He will be included in the starting eleven for the second test.
“I’m not really sure if a fourth bowler is needed. But if India feels they only need one fast bowler, then having Kuldeep will certainly help. It will have variations, but England will come and do the same things they did in Hyderabad,” he said. .
(With PTI inputs)