“Went against him” – Sanjay Manjrekar says Shubman Gill’s decision to bat slower cost him his wicket in IND vs ENG 1st Test

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believes that Shubman Gill’s defensive game cost him his wicket against England on Day 2 of the opening Test in Hyderabad on Friday, January 26.

Manjrekar has urged Gill to play his natural shots instead of going into a shell since switching to the No. 3 slot in Test cricket. The 58-year-old further questioned Gill’s feet moments. He felt that Gill failed to play backfoot shots against the spinners during his stint at the crease.

The comments came after Gill threw away his wicket for just 23 runs off 66 balls. The Punjab-born is yet to score a half-century in his last 10 Test innings.

Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo:

“Shubman Gill’s decision to bat slower than the need of the hour went against him.”

The cricketer-turned-commentator continued:

“You’ve to look at the way he got out. You got the impression when he played the shot that he was trying to break the shackles somewhat, trying to hit over the infield. It was a bit of a grind for Shubman Gill."

"We’ve been talking a lot about backfoot play on turning pitches against spinners and when you look at the backfoot play of Gill, you’ll see that there’s hardly any.”

Unlike the limited-overs format, Gill has been dismal in red-ball cricket since the 2023 World Test Championship final. He amassed 154 runs in three innings, with the best score of 110 against Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last year but since then, he has returned with scores of 13, 18, 6, 10, 29*, 2, 26, 36, 10, 14* and 23.

Gill, though, averages 33.15 in home Tests with 431 runs in 15 innings, including one century and two fifties.

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“No better person than Rahul Dravid” – Sanjay Manjrekar wants Shubman Gill to learn from head coach

Sanjay Manjrekar pointed out that Shubman Gill is unable to rotate the strike due to a lack of foot movements. He urged him to work on his backfoot shots by spending quality time in the nets with head coach Rahul Dravid:

“He’s only trying to defend with a pretty rigid bat instead of trying to maneuver it. This is something that I’m sure Shubman Gill will start working on."

"No better person than Rahul Dravid to be there with him to just encourage him to play more of the backfoot and when he’s on the front, maybe just look to maneuver the ball just a little bit.”

As far as the match is concerned, India have extended a 175-run first-innings lead against England. The hosts were 421/7 at stumps on Day 2, with Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel at the crease.

Follow the India vs England 1st Test live scores and updates here.