“We won't judge him on the basis of one innings” - Batting coach Vikram Rathour on Shubman Gill

Team India batting coach Vikram Rathour backed Shubman Gill despite a few low scores for the youngster in recent Test matches. Referring to his failure in the first Test against West Indies in Dominica, he opined that a player cannot be judged on the basis of one knock. He went on to describe Gill as the future of India’s batting.

India hammered West Indies by an innings and 141 runs in the first Test of the two-match series in Dominica. While debutant opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and skipper Rohit Sharma notched up hundreds, Gill, who batted at No. 3, was dismissed for 6 off 11 balls. Earlier, the 23-year-old failed in the World Test Championship (WTC) final as well, registering scores of 13 and 18 against Australia at The Oval.

At a press conference on Sunday, July 16, Rathour threw his weight behind Gill and predicted a bright future for him in Test cricket.

“We won't judge him on the basis of one innings. He has a lot of time and surely he will do well for us in this position because he has the game for that. He can take his time and play, and he is a stroke-player as well who can move the game forward. Having such a batter at No.3 is extremely advantageous," he stated.

The former India opener asserted that Gill has a lot of potential, which he has already proved in other formats.

“He has also made runs in Test cricket. Sometimes it might take a bit of time in a particular format, and he is taking that time, but he has that time. The potential that he has, I have no doubt that he is the future of the Indian team in batting. He will play for the Indian team for a long time, in all three formats,” Rathour added.

Praising Gill, Rathour opined that the right-handed batter is working hard and has the temperament and talent to become a big cricketer.

He commented:

"He is taking some time but the good thing is that there is no dearth of hardwork, he is working out on things. And along with potential he also has the temperament, which makes one a big player. Again, there's no doubt that he'll play all three formats for a long time."

Gill’s Test numbers are somewhat underwhelming. In 17 matches, he has scored 927 runs at an average of 31.96.

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“He feels that his right position in the longer formats is that” - Rathour on Gill at No. 3

In the build-up to the Dominica Test, Indian skipper Rohit had revealed that Gill himself requested the management to give him the No. 3 position. Sharing his thoughts on the same, Rathour said the think tank backed his viewpoint.

The 54-year-old explained:

"There are three openers in the team, so one had to go to No.3. But the good thing is that it came from Shubman himself, he said 'I'll like to go No.3'. His reasoning is that whenever he has played first-class cricket or for India, he has played at No.3 or 4. He feels that his right position in the longer formats is that. So we were all happy with that decision. After that discussion, Rahul [Dravid] and Rohit [Sharma] decided that it would be better for him to play at No.3.”

Gill will be seen in action when India take on West Indies in the second Test at Port of Spain in Trinidad from July 20 to 24.