Former Team India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar feels Shubman Gill`s batting was affected after the heated conversations between him and England players on Day 3 of the third Test match at the Lord`s Cricket Ground.
After the verbal exchanges between England players and Gill, Manjrekar drew comparisons between the 25-year-old and stalwart Virat Kohli.
“The thing with Virat Kohli was that he would get even more fired up and become a better batter [if things got nasty]. What disappointed me with Shubman Gill and that is why I was wondering, where is Shubman Gill heading? Because that seemed like it didn`t have the right effect on Shubman Gill the batter,” Manjrekar said on ESPNcricinfo.
The former cricketer further said that Gill experienced a new thing and did not seem to be ready for it.
“He came out looking very tentative and, you know, these days we are privy to the stump mic and we could hear the things being said and there were some personal attacks made. This could be a new experience for Shubman Gill because these days, as you can see, you know, with Indian players, there`s mostly friendly reception from a lot of foreign teams. So this was new territory. And he looked tentative and wasn`t up for it,” he added.
Manjrekar said that there is no need for Test skipper Gill to show his aggression after being appointed for the leadership role.
“And just to extend on that point, if Shubman Gill had that kind of a fiery side to him, we would have seen it a little earlier. You don`t have to show it when you`re the captain. Or did he show it because he`s got this confidence now that he`s won a Test match, and he`s got so many runs?,” said the 60-year-old.
Sanjay Manjrekar, who has played 37 Test matches for India, then said that Virat Kohli always wanted to get in the thick of things, and he has never seen that with Gill.
“With Virat Kohli, you could see that he was ready for a scrap. He was always waiting to get in the thick of things. Even when he wasn`t a captain, you could see him coming in there. So that was a trait that we`d seen even before he was captain. With Shubman Gill, I`ve never seen it before,” he concluded.
(With ANI Inputs)
