‘Uncle ji mujhe Ahmedabad ki pitch dila dijiye’ – Fans react as Shubman Gill continues to struggle at no. 3, departs after scoring just 10 runs in 2nd Test against West Indies

It seems that Shubman Gill’s new batting position in the Test format is not working for him. After the exclusion of Cheteshwar Pujara from the team for the 2-match Test series against West Indies, Gill was asked to bat at no. 3 position as young Yashasvi Jaiswal was selected as an opener.

After a disappointing performance in the first Test of the series, Gill entered the field in the 2nd Test with the intention of atoning for his earlier shortcomings. Unfortunately, he didn’t spend much time at the crease. But he failed once again and got dismissed on just 10 runs after nicking behind Kemar Roach’s delivery. 

Joshua Da Silva, the wicketkeeper, made no mistakes in taking the catch, giving Gill yet another poor performance. After having a chat with his captain and batting partner Rohit Sharma, he made the decision to go without risking a review. His form and technique came under scrutiny because this was his second consecutively low score in the series.

Shubman Gill’s record as an opener

Gill’s maiden game at the number three position against the West Indies in the first Test, which India won by an innings and 141 runs, didn’t go well either as he was out for six. However, despite this, according to India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour, the team’s administration would support Gill and allow the young player adequate time to adjust to the No. 3 position.

“It’s a massive challenge, not only the position. I think Shubman Gill played at No. 3 for his first-class side. But coming off a white-ball season, as a batter, you are trying to control your bat speed. In a T20 format or ODI format, you are going hard at the ball,” Rathour was quoted as saying by India Today.

In the past, Gill had opened the batting for India along with Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, scoring 2 of his Test hundreds and 4 half-centuries but lost his opening position to make way for the left-handed batter Yashasvi Jaiswal. It’d be interesting to see if the management will continue with the same batting order in the upcoming Test series.

Here’s how fans reacted: