Ahead of the first Test match against South Africa, former Team India cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara said that the need to adjust the game according to the format will be the biggest challenge for Shubman Gill.
“Someone like Shubman, who is still a young player, doesn`t really have a heavy physical workload. But mentally, it can be challenging,” said Pujara during the Media Day ahead of the series opener.
The former cricketer then cited the example of the Australia tour, where Gill led the ODI set-up of the Indian team and also featured in the T20I matches.
“He was recently in Australia leading the Indian one-day squad, then he played T20s, and now he suddenly has to shift from white-ball to red-ball cricket, not in Australia, but in India, where the conditions are completely different,” said the veteran of 103 Test matches.
“His biggest challenge will be adjusting to different formats as quickly as possible. In Test cricket, you need temperament, patience and you also need to change your game plan according to the format and to do that very quickly is always challenging for any top class player,” he added.
Pujara also backed Gill`s captaincy skills and feels that the 26-year-old cricketer will gain confidence from the previous Test series against the West Indies and England.
“Someone like him, who is young, maturing quickly, and already leading the team well, I`m sure will respond positively. The Indian Test team`s recent form will also help him; they did exceptionally well in the West Indies and before that in England”, he said.
“Shubman, as captain, will gain confidence from that. And they`re playing South Africa, who recently won the World Test Championship and remain a top side. It will be a competitive series, and I`m sure Shubman is looking forward to the challenge,” said the veteran, who scored 7195 Test runs for India.
The first Test match between India and South Africa is scheduled to be played at the Eden Gardens from November 14.
IND vs SA Tests: Full Squads
India: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (WK) (VC), Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep.
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (C), Zubayr Hamza, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Senuran Muthusamy, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Ryan Rickelton (WK), Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne (WK).
(With PTI Inputs)
