Australia
Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting says that India batter Shubman Gill 'needs to back his defensive technique' in order to get some runs in Australia. Ponting's comments come on the back of Gill's lackluster performance in the two Tests he has played in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series.
"I love watching him play. When you're watching him bat and bat well, he looks as good as anyone in world cricket,” Ponting said in the ICC Review. “But the numbers don't really stack up, do they, away from home?”
"I watched him a little bit in Adelaide and it almost looked like he changed things up too much,” Ponting contined.
“Scott Boland was bowling and he changed his guard, he moved across to the off stump, presented his front pad to Boland, and Boland got him out with a full straight one.
"If anything, I think he needs to back himself a little bit more, needs to back his defensive technique a little bit more here in Australia and still find a way to be able to score and score quickly," added the former Aussie skipper.
Gill has scored only 60 runs so far in three innings he has batted in, with a highest score of 31.
India's performance with the bat has been sub par on the tour with only KL Rahul being consistent among the top seven batters. Rahul, who was slotted into the opener's slot due to skipper Rohit Sharma's absence from the first Test, has scored 235 runs in six innings with two fifties to his name.
Yashasvi Jaiswal is India's second highest run-scorer with 193 runs, but most of his runs - 161 to be exact - came in one innings.
The five-Test series currently stands equal at 1-1 after three matches with two more games to go.