Gill's Early Days At No. 3 Not Good, Ex-Opener Suggests Areas To 'Tighten'

The India-West Indies Test series has seen Shubman Gill batting at a news No. 3 slot. While before this he has been opening the innings for India, Gill is slowly getting accustomed to the new position. He has not scored big in the spot do far. While in the first Test in Dominica he scored six, in the first innings of the second Test in Trinidad he scored 10. Former India opener Wasim Jaffer, who played 31 Tests and two ODIs for India and also holds numerous records in domestic cricket, said Gill will have to learn the trade of batting at No 3, especially on slow and low pitches.

"Looking at the bigger picture, he wants to bat there for a longer period. But the start has not been the way he wanted. In this Test match and in this innings, he had a good chance, the wicket was good, (the team) had got a good start. I felt he played a little loose and he obviously will be disappointed with that dismissal, and that is where he needs to tighten up. He likes the ball coming on to the bat, because of so much of white-ball cricket he is used to hitting on the rise," he said.

"He wants that pace which is found in white-ball cricket. But in red-ball cricket, on wickets like these, probably in India when he plays, it is not easy to play on the rise. He just needs to understand that and improve his game for those conditions."

Jaffer said Jaiswal has made a great start to Test cricket which many players will only dream of.

"It has been a dream start, there is no doubt about it. Anyone getting 170 (171) in his debut innings and following it up with a fifty (54) is a dream start that anyone would wish to have. He is on the right track, I have known him from 2013-14 since he used to work with Jwala Singh (coach) and I was also involved," he said.

Talking about India's T20 side for the West Indies series, Jaffer said he was surprised with the selection of Umran Malik.

"I am surprised with Umran Malik's selection. We have seen him concede a lot of runs in T20 cricket. He is more suited to Test or one-day cricket. He needs to learn the art of T20 cricket. I do not think he is ready for T20 cricket."

With PTI inputs

from NDTV Sports-Cricket
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