Srikkanth on Shubman Gill: “Scoring in subcontinent alone does not help”

According to former Indian captain Kris Srikkanth, Shubman Gill needs to perform well in a variety of global environments in order to live up to the hype surrounding him in international cricket. In the second Test, which starts on Wednesday in Cape Town, India will play South Africa. India is now behind 1-0. In sharp contrast to his amazing ODI totals, Gill’s Test performance has so far been lacklustre at the bat.

“Shubman Gill needs to deliver quality work everywhere. Merely accumulating runs within the subcontinent is insufficient. He must score runs away from home. Why is Virat Kohli referred to as the King? Take a look at his record in Test matches, ODIs, and T20Is, even in the past year. Take a look at his track record. I’m at a loss for words. Yes, I understand that you can’t consistently produce a Virat Kohli. It is not possible for everyone to achieve Virat Kohli-like numbers. However, you have to make an effort to reach that level of prominence, as Srikkanth stated on his YouTube channel.

“I believe that Shubman Gill’s hype—many people are claiming that he will be the next this or the next that. We’ll just have to wait and see, I believe. He continued, “I wouldn’t want to undervalue him or overrate him. Gill has amassed 994 runs at an average of 31.06 in 19 Test matches, including two hundreds and four fifties in 35 innings. His highest rating is 128. Gill scored 258 runs in 10 innings at an average of 28.66 in six Test matches last year. His only notable knock was a century at 128.

Gill has amassed 417 runs at an average of 32.07 across 14 innings of eight Test matches in India, including two fifty-fives and a century. Gill has performed admirably in Australia, amassing 259 runs at an average of 51.80 across six innings and three matches. He also scored two fifties. However, he has poor performance records in South Africa and England. In three Test matches in England, Gill has only managed to score 88 runs in six innings, with a best of 28. He managed just 28 runs during his time in South Africa, 26 of which came in the second half of his first-ever Test match in this region of the world. Gill has also participated in two West Indies Test matches, where he averaged just 22.50 and managed to score just 45 runs in three innings. Gill has scored a century in Bangladesh but has just 157 runs in four innings in Bangladesh.

Gill has not scored 50 runs in a Test match in seven innings. Gill has scored 735 runs at an average of 27.22 in 16 Tests and 29 innings since his historic 91-run innings at Brisbane helped India win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy back in January 2021. He has also amassed two hundreds and two fifties during this time. Gill has also had trouble in Twenty20 cricket, managing just 312 runs at an average of 26.00 over 13 innings, including a century and a fifty. Gill, however, has excellent one-day international (ODI) stats: 2,271 runs at an average of 61.37 in 44 matches, with six tonnes and thirteen fifties. His highest rating is 208.