Shubman Gill’s knock in the second innings where he managed to silence his critics with a fantastic century against England in the second innings of the second Test at Vizag, received a lot of plaudits for the way he played when coming on under pressure. Head coach Rahul Dravid was particularly pleased with the way he was able to respond to the naysayers who questioned his ability in the longest format.
Speaking in the post-match press conference, Rahul Dravid spoke in length regarding Shubman Gill’s knock. He said,” He came into the Test match under pressure externally, internally we have a lot of confidence in Shubman. We know his class and his ability, We’ve seen it. We’ve seen how good a player he’s been.”
Dravid even pointed out Gill has been able to contribute with knocks even during his lean patch for the Indian Test team and acknowledged that he is a player from whom a lot is expected despite being very young in the longest format.
Dravid added,” Even in this lean run. He’s the one who’s got us 100 at Chittagong. He got 100 in Ahmedabad. So we know that quality. But of course, I mean, as a young player from whom a lot is expected, I think he did feel the pressure. So happy with the way he played.”
The head coach particularly appreciated the way Gill was able to soak in the pressure during the second innings and his ability to stitch partnerships with the middle order. Dravid commented,” I thought he was terrific especially, the way he just controlled the fight. It required him to soak in a lot of pressure at various times. Build a couple of partnerships, first with Shreyas and then with Axar Patel and just get us to a position of strength.”
Despite scoring the century he did not go on for long as he was dismissed playing the reverse sweep which got the nick on his gloves for a catch to the keepers. Dravid believes that the batter will also be disappointed that Gill was not able to go on longer to score even more runs. I think he will be a little bit disappointed in the sense that I’m sure he would have liked to have carried that on, especially with 20, 30 minutes to Tea. Probably could have carried that on and made a much bigger century,” said Dravid.
The head coach has revealed that there were no questions regarding Gill’s hunger to succeed. The management backs his abilities to play in all three formats and recognises that he is still young on the international stage.
Dravid added,” There’s never been a question about Shubman’s work ethic, his desire to improve, his attitude. I think he ticks every single box for us. As someone who is desperate to succeed in all three formats of the game. He’s got the skill, he’s got the ability, and he’s a young man. I mean, we forget he’s 24.”
Rahul Dravid emphasised that the young Gill is still learning and will have ups and downs in his career. But he emphasised that they recognise that Gill is someone who can represent the Indian team in all three formats of the sport. Dravid concluded by saying, “He’s also learning along the way. He’s going to have some blips, he’s going to have some good periods in his career, and we’re just going to have to ride with it at times, knowing that we’ve got someone who’s trying his absolute best to become a very good player in all the three formats.”
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