Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Parthiv Patel has put his weight behind Shubman Gill to continue his rich form in the third Test against England at Lord’s, where the pitch is expected to be a green top. Patel noted that many experts were doubting Gill before the Test series against England as he had an average of 25 while playing outside the sub-continent.
Gill has been batting like a dream as he has aggregated 585 runs in two Test matches at a splendid average of 146.25. The flamboyant batter amassed 430 runs in the second Test and played a key role in helping India register a historic win.
“Before this tour started, everyone had questioned Shubman Gill’s form. Everyone thought can he play in SENA countries. Now that he has scored runs, everyone is saying wickets were not as green as what it’s been there in England. It’s great to be Shubman Gill right now,” Parthiv Patel said on Star Sports show Follow the Blues.
Patel backed Gill to continue his rich form at Lord’s, where the pitch is expected to aid the bowlers.
“After scoring more than 400 runs in a game, people are still questioning your form, whether you can play on a green top or not. Every question is answered brilliantly. He has worked really hard before coming on this tour. If anyone would like to be Shubman Gill, this is the time. You know your process is working. I don’t see any reason why it may not work here,” Patel observed.
Meanwhile, Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul have been providing a steady start to the team and Patel said the opening duo is making the life of the middle-order batters easy.
When he was asked if Jaiswal and Rahul need to change their batting approach, Patel said, “Not really, I thought they both complemented each other really well. Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul are the reason why Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja could score as freely as they have been scoring.”
“When you look at KL Rahul, though he scored only two runs in the first innings, he was still giving himself that time. He likes to leave that ball alone. Good to see that he is very sure of where his off-stump is. His footwork is very decisive, and whenever there is an opportunity to score runs, he is not holding back,” Patel observed.
The third Test match between India and England will be played at Lord’s, London from 10th July onwards.
