India lost the first Test of the five-match series against England by 28 runs in Hyderabad. Gill had a poor outing, scoring 23 and 0. Of all batters with more than a thousand runs since his debut, his average of 29.52 is the worst among Indians and the third-worst in the world.

More than the lack of runs, Gill’s discomfort against spin would be a worrying factor for the Indian management. He seemed to be caught in the crease and found if difficult to break free in the first innings of the Hyderabad Test, before getting out for a two-ball duck in the second.

Kumble, who was also the head coach of India in 2016 and 2017, spoke about Gill’s issues after the game. Talking on Match Centre Live for JioCinema and Sports18, Kumble said, “He needs to be a lot freer. He needs to score runs. He needs to come up with his own plan of action to tackle spin, because he has hard hands.

“It’s good for good surfaces where the ball is coming on nicely and the faster bowlers are bowling at you. But when the ball is turning, when it’s slow, you need to use your hands and control and check your shots. That’s something he needs to work on. It can’t be one flow all the time.

“Yes, four days before the next Test, can you work on your skill? I think it’s all the mindset. You can certainly work on your mindset, and you have the best possible person as the coach (Rahul Dravid) to manage that for Shubman Gill.”

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India dropped Gill to No.3 in Test cricket after the 2023 World Test Championship final. He replaced usual one-down Cheteshwar Pujara, who was dropped after a downturn in returns in his last couple of years in Test cricket. However, Gill has not been able to mark so far, at No.3 and in general. After 21 Tests, he averages 29.52 with just two hundreds and four fifties.

Kumble touched upon this point and said that despite his relatively poor returns, Gill has been given extended backing, something which Pujara didn’t get. “He has been given the cushion perhaps even a Cheteshwar Pujara didn’t get.

“Although he [Pujara] has played over a 100 Tests, I keep coming back to him mainly because that was his place not too long ago. Pujara played in that World Test Championship final and post that, it’s been Shubman Gill, who’s been moving from the opener’s slot, and he himself wanted to bat at No.3.

“So, when you want to bat at No.3, especially in India because you have that talent, you certainly need to work on your game. He has the skills, he is young and he’s learning, but he needs to do it in Vizag, otherwise the pressure will be on him.”

The second Test of the series starts in Visakhapatnam from February 2.