'He needs to address it before England series' - VVS Laxman points out Shubman Gill's weakness

After a bitter loss against New Zealand in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final, India shifts its attention to the five-match Test series against England which is set to begin on August 4. Virat Kohli spoke about how there will be a lot of discussions regarding the team combinations and plans before the series begins. Clearly, India’s batters struggled against a strong Kiwi pace bowling attack.

Shubman Gill, who featured in the WTC Final and had a mediocre outing with the bat, has got a lot of experts and critics questioning his selection in the team. Interestingly, the right-hand batter had a phenomenal debut series Down Under but has failed to replicate the same amount of consistency during the home series against England and in the WTC Final.

Former India batter VVS Laxman believes the 21-year-old needs to correct few issues before the high-octane series against England begins. Gill was consistently troubled by Tim Southee and Trent Boult who are genuine swing bowlers. Laxman felt the batter failed to adjust to the incoming deliveries and was caught at the crease.

“This is something (Foot movement against incoming deliveries) Shubman Gill requires to address, especially keeping in mind the England series in which Stuart Broad and James Anderson will test the right-hander with the ball coming in,” Laxman told Star Sports.

Pressure on Shubman Gill to deliver against England

India gets a 42-day break before their series against England kicks off. He has a lot of time to introspect before he gets back to his run-scoring ways. The management and skipper Kohli has always backed the youngster to come good, but deep down Gill knows there will be pressure on him from the other openers Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul.

With the five-match series cramped in five weeks, Gill has to find ways against the likes of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes, and Jofra Archer who will relentlessly bowl in good areas. Anderson and Broad are the swing bowlers and they will try to bring the ball in and expose the 21-year-old’s vulnerability to play at it.