Ponting further suggested that with the added burden of leadership, Gill should consider anchoring the innings from the No. 4 position, following the Test retirement of stalwart Virat Kohli
Ricky Ponting (Pic: File Pic)
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting remarked that newly-appointed skipper Shubman Gill must refine his batting technique as India gear up for the upcoming Test series against England.
"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," he said.
Ponting further suggested that with the added burden of leadership, Gill should consider anchoring the innings from the No. 4 position, following the Test retirement of stalwart Virat Kohli.
"...the reason I did that was if they go with (Yashasvi) Jaiswal, and if Sai Sudarshan is the other opener, they need someone a bit more experienced at number three. So that could be either, KL at three, or that could be a Karun Nair at three and Shubman at four," said the former cricketer.
The 50-year-old also believes that Gill has the potential to be a mainstay in the Indian team for years to come.
"But he just seemed the sort of guy that the extra responsibility wouldn't faze too much. It seems like he's got a really level head on his shoulders. He's someone that's going to be around in Indian cricket for another 10 years," said the veteran of 168 Test matches.
"And look, I don't know Shubman that well. I've spoken to him six, eight, 10 times, maybe the last couple of years around different things and around batting and around leadership. He's done a great job with GT (Gujarat Titans), no doubt about that," he added.
India will clash against England for a five-match Test series, scheduled to kick off on June 20. The first match is scheduled to be played in Leeds, followed by Edgbaston (Birmingham), Lord's (London), Old Trafford (Manchester), and The Oval (London).
India’s squad: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
