India vs South Africa: Shubman Gill, the Prince of Indian Cricket, has fallen under pressure following a number of poor performances in Test cricket. Gill has performed exceptionally well in T20i’s and ODi’s, but he has been unable to replicate his white-ball form in the longest format of the game. According to RCB Wicket-Keeper Batsman Dinesh Karthik, the 24-year-old would have to perform exceptionally well in the second and final test matches against South Africa if he wants to retain his spot in the Indian test team.
Gill has failed to adapt to the South African conditions and has struggled against the pace and bounce of the Proteas seamers. In the recently concluded 1st test match against South Africa, the Gujarat Titans skipper managed to score just 2 runs in the 1st inning and 26 runs in the 2nd inning. Even in the recently concluded 3-match T20i series between India and South Africa, Gill managed to score just 8 runs in 2 matches. Such poor performances have raised concerns regarding his ability to perform under pressure in overseas conditions.
In an interview with Cricbuzz, Dinesh Karthik was really disappointed with Shubman Gill, as the youngster has failed to live up to the expectations set for him and said, “Shubman is the big question mark here. He has failed to live up to the expectations of the fans, and he would be aware that if you have an average of mid-30s or early-30s after playing 20 Test matches, then you would consider yourself to be a bit lucky to be around. His place in the team will definitely be criticized if he doesn’t perform well in the next match against South Africa.”
In the 35 Test innings Shubman Gill has played so far, he has managed to score 994 runs at a poor average of 31.06. The 24-year-old’s last 50+ score came against Australia in this year’s Border Gavaskar Trophy when he scored 128 runs in the Narendra Modi Stadium of Ahmedabad. Since then, he has not scored a single half century in the last 7 innings, with his scores reading 18, 13, 6, 29*, 10, 2, and 26 runs. An unbeaten inning of 29 runs against the Windies is Gill’s highest score in the previous 7 innings.
Dinesh Karthik has backed the inclusion of Rajat Patidar and Sarfaraz Khan in the Indian Test Squad, as both of them have performed well in domestic cricket and are constantly knocking on the doors of the selectors for their selection in the Indian Test Team.
“The only middle-order name that we are missing out on is Sarfaraz Khan. I am pretty sure that he (Sarfaraz) will make his way into the squad much sooner than he thinks right now. Other than him, you do not have any other names doing the round in the middle order right now. Rajat Patidar is a very strong name that I think they will be looking at very soon,” DK added.
The decision to exclude veterans Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane from the test squad has raised a lot of eyebrows. Dk, though, believes that their exclusion from the test squad does not mean that the veterans are not going to make a comeback. If the youngsters continue to struggle in the overseas conditions, the selectors may have to bring back Pujara and Rahne.
“It looks like the selectors have moved on from Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, but that does not mean they will not come back to the team. If performances are put like this, then as a coach or a captain, you are going to think, Let us go back to those players who have performed well in the countries that we are going to be touring,” DK said.
The upcoming second Test match will be vital for both India and South Africa. The Proteas managed to defeat India in the first match so they will have to either win or draw the 2nd match and they will be the winners of this year’s Freedom Series. The Men in Blue, on the other hand, have to win the second test by any means if they want to avoid losing the 2-match Test series against South Africa.
Read: Ravindra Jadeja all set to make a comeback in the second test match against South Africa
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