Ricky Ponting

As Shubman Gill gears up to lead India in the upcoming five-Test series in England starting June 20, former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has advised him to shift down the batting order to number four. Ponting believes that Gill has room to improve his Test match game, and juggling leadership responsibilities might affect his performance if he continues to bat higher up.

“𝑯𝒆’𝒔 π’ˆπ’π’• 𝒂 π’π’Šπ’•π’•π’π’† π’ƒπ’Šπ’• 𝒐𝒇 π’˜π’π’“π’Œ 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒐𝒏 π’‰π’Šπ’” 𝑻𝒆𝒔𝒕 π’Žπ’‚π’•π’„π’‰ π’ƒπ’‚π’•π’•π’Šπ’π’ˆ. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 π’†π’‚π’”π’š π’˜π’‰π’†π’ π’šπ’π’–’𝒓𝒆 𝒂 π’π’†π’˜ π’„π’‚π’‘π’•π’‚π’Šπ’… π’Šπ’• π’˜π’π’’𝒕 𝒃𝒆 π’†π’‚π’”π’š 𝒇𝒐𝒓 π’‰π’Šπ’Ž,” π‘·π’π’π’•π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’”π’‚π’Šπ’… π’…π’–π’“π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒂𝒏 π’Šπ’π’•π’†π’“π’—π’Šπ’†π’˜ π’˜π’Šπ’•π’‰ 𝑷𝑻𝑰.

Leadership Potential: Backed for the Long Haul

Despite the concerns, Ponting backed Gill’s leadership qualities, noting that he seems unfazed by pressure and has already proven his captaincy credentials with Gujarat Titans in the IPL.

Ponting recalled recommending Gill for Test captaincy during the Sydney Test last year and described him as someone who has the right temperament and longevity to lead India.

β€œπ‘―π’†β€™π’” π’”π’π’Žπ’†π’π’π’† 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 π’ˆπ’π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 π’Šπ’ π‘°π’π’…π’Šπ’‚π’ π’„π’“π’Šπ’„π’Œπ’†π’• 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 10 π’šπ’†π’‚π’“π’”,” π‘·π’π’π’•π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.

Defensive Gaps and Mental Approach Need Improvement

While Gill’s aggressive style is effective in white-ball cricket, Ponting pointed out flaws in his Test match defense and concentration. He emphasized the need for Gill to remain fully focused throughout long innings.

β€œπ‘Ίπ’π’Žπ’†π’•π’Šπ’Žπ’†π’” 𝒉𝒆 π’Žπ’Šπ’ˆπ’‰π’• π’ˆπ’†π’• 𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 π’‰π’Šπ’Žπ’”π’†π’π’‡ 𝒐𝒓 π’π’‚π’›π’š π’Šπ’ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’Žπ’Šπ’…π’…π’π’† 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝑻𝒆𝒔𝒕 π’Šπ’π’π’Šπ’π’ˆπ’”. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 π’Šπ’ 𝑻𝒆𝒔𝒕 π’„π’“π’Šπ’„π’Œπ’†π’•,” π‘·π’π’π’•π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’†π’™π’‘π’π’‚π’Šπ’π’†π’….

Although Ponting didn’t see major technical faults, he emphasized that Gill’s mental application and shot selection are areas needing work, especially over long sessions.

Why No. 4 Makes Sense for Gill

Ponting recommended that Gill bats at number four in the Test lineup. With Yashasvi Jaiswal and potentially Sai Sudharsan opening, India will need a solid presence in the middle order. Ponting proposed using someone experienced like KL Rahul or Karun Nair at number three to bridge the top order and middle order.

β€œπ‘Άπ’π’„π’† 𝒉𝒆 π’ˆπ’“π’π’˜π’” π’Šπ’π’•π’ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒆, π‘Ίπ’‰π’–π’ƒπ’Žπ’‚π’ 𝒄𝒂𝒏 π’Žπ’π’—π’† π’ƒπ’‚π’„π’Œ 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒐 π’π’–π’Žπ’ƒπ’†π’“ 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆,” 𝒉𝒆 π’”π’–π’ˆπ’ˆπ’†π’”π’•π’†π’….

Sudharsan’s Time Has Come

Ponting strongly supported Sai Sudharsan making his Test debut as an opener. With the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli no longer in the squad, Ponting believes now is the ideal time for India to rebuild.

He praised Sudharsan’s strong domestic and IPL performances and sees him as technically sound and ready for the next step.

β€œπ‘Ίπ’†π’†π’Žπ’” 𝒕𝒐 π’Žπ’† π’π’Šπ’Œπ’† 𝑺𝒖𝒅𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒏’𝒔 π’“π’†π’‚π’…π’š. 𝑳𝒐𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 π’‡π’Šπ’“π’”π’•-𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’‰π’Šπ’” 𝑰𝑷𝑳 π’‡π’π’“π’Ž 𝒉𝒂𝒔 π’‘π’“π’π’ƒπ’‚π’ƒπ’π’š 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 π’‚π’π’šπ’ƒπ’π’…π’š 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆,” π‘·π’π’π’•π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’“π’†π’Žπ’‚π’“π’Œπ’†π’….

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