Nick Knight highlights glaring issue in Shubman Gill's batting ahead of England Tests

Former England batter Nick Knight has highlighted a major technical shortcoming in India captain Shubman Gill's batting ahead of the highly-anticipated five-match Test series against England. The first Test is set to be held at Headingley, Leeds, from June 20 to June 24.

This is going to be Shubman's first assignment as the Indian captain in the longest format. He has taken over the reins from Rohit Sharma, who announced his retirement from red-ball cricket on May 7. Shubman will have his task cut out as India will be missing the services of stalwarts like Rohit, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Mohammed Shami. The 25-year-old's performances as a batter as well as a captain is going to be under immense scrutiny during the tour.

Knight, who has commentated in matches featuring Shubman, both in international cricket as well as in the Indian Premier League, noted that his front leg at times pushes across a bit too much.

"Well, when I've been out in India (for IPL commentary), I always highlight the same thing, really. Sometimes with Shubman, more so when you're sort of a little lacking in confidence and striving for things a little bit for your form, sometimes that front leg just pushes across a little bit too much," Knight was quoted as saying by India Today.

Furthermore, the cricketer-turned-commentator said that the Punjab batter is going to have a difficult time facing up to a left-arm seamer, bowling over the wicket and swinging it back into the pads.

"And, therefore, the rotation of the body and accessing the ball and playing around that front pad. But of late, I haven't seen that quite so much, if I'm brutally honest. But it becomes more important when you've got a left-armer coming over the wicket and swinging it back into the pads. That's something that he will probably be always aware of," Knight added.

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Shubman has only scored 88 runs from three Tests played in England, with the highest score of 28. He will look to lead his team from the front against England as the two behemoths begin their campaign in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-2027 cycle.