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 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑻𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏… 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒎,” 𝑷𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 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.
“𝑯𝒆’𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 10 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔,” 𝑷𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 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.
“𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒐𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒛𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝑻𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝑻𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕,” 𝑷𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅.
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.
“𝑶𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒆, 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒃𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅.
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.
“𝑺𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑺𝒖𝒅𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚. 𝑳𝒐𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕-𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑰𝑷𝑳 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆,” 𝑷𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅.