Give Shubman Gill Longer Run Like Virat Kohli And Rohit Sharma Got Under MS Dhoni: Gautam Gambhir
The 39-year-old wants Gill to get a backing which Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma got under MS Dhoni's leadership.
Gautam Gambhir said he wants the Indian team management to give a longer run to Shubman Gill in Test team. 20-year-old Gill is all set to make his Test debut against Australia in the Boxing Day Test. The Punjab batsman will replace Prithvi Shaw in the playing XI after the later’s dismal show in opening Test at Adelaide Oval.
Gambhir feels making a debut in Boxing Day Test is a very big opportunity for Shubman.
“Only time will tell if Shubman Gill will be successful as an opening batsman. But getting an opportunity making your debut in a Boxing Day Test in Australia, it can’t get much bigger than that,” Gautam Gambhir said on Sports Today Youtube.
The veteran opener said the team management should pick Gill on trust and give him a longer run in the team.
“But again I expect the team management not to pick him on hope. Pick him on trust. Because if you pick somebody on trust you end up giving him a longer opportunity or a longer run. When you pick someone on hope, you are only expecting I hope he does well,” he added.
The southpaw believes that Gill should be included in playing XI even after Rohit Sharma’s return to Team India in the third Test.
“So, if you pick Shubman Gill I am sure they will be thinking about showing that trust in him. Even if Rohit Sharma comes back, they have got to push him somewhere in that batting order. It will be very unfair on Shubman Gill if he opens batting and gets to a 20-30 and then suddenly Rohit Sharma comes back and Gill finds himself outside the playing XI,” Gambhir emphasized.
The 39-year-old wants Gill to get a backing which Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma got under MS Dhoni’s leadership.
“That’s not going to be fair on him. If you decide to pick Shubman Gill, pick him on trust and believe in him and probably give him a longer run like what Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma got under MS Dhoni,” Gambhir added.
After losing the first Test in Adelaide, India will lock horns against Australia on December 26 at MCG in Boxing Day clash.