Shubman Gill needs to do something about his defence: Sanjay Manjrekar

Shubman Gill had a rough start to the year 2024. He looked average in the two-match Test series against South Africa and in the first match against England, the youngster once again failed to justify his potential. Speaking about his difficulties in the middle, former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar mentioned that the 24-year-old needs to work on his defence. 

In the absence of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul from the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam, Gill will have to take more responsibility as he has more experience than a lot of batters in the playing XI. He has done well against both swing and spin in the past but his form is a bit of a concern at the moment. Manjrekar stated that it won’t be easy for him to find his foot just like that but this is an uncontrollable factor that the team management needs to deal with.

“Shubman Gill, how does he react to his failures? He needs to do something about his defense if he wants to be the prolific run-getter in the team at the Test level, both against swing and spin. That’s a cause for worry and that’s something that won’t be solved easily. These are uncontrollable for the team management, and the selectors,” Manjrekar said on ESPNcricinfo.

Rajat Patidar replaces KL Rahul in the playing XI

The wait continues for Sarfaraz Khan as Rajat Patidar has been handed his debut cap ahead of the second Test against England. The 30-year-old was in remarkable form, hitting back-to-back centuries against England Lions in January, which have helped him earn his ticket to the Indian team.

Replacing KL Rahul, who did well in the last match, Patidar will have a lot of responsibility in the middle order. If the cricketer manages to prove himself in Visakhapatnam, he can very well get ahead in the pecking order and might even replace either Shreyas Iyer or Gill when the likes of Kohli and Rahul return.