Ricky Ponting offers advice to Shubman Gill amid poor form
Former Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has given a piece of advice to Indian opener Shubman Gill. He said that while Gill's home performance is impressive, his overseas record needs to be bettered. "I love watching him play. When you're watching him bat and bat well, he looks as good as anyone in world cricket," Ponting said on The ICC Review. However, he also pointed out the difference in Gill's performance stats at home and abroad.
Gill's performance statistics: A closer look
As per ESPNcricinfo, Gill owns 616 runs in 12 away Tests, clocking an average of 30.80. Meanwhile, he has 1,177 runs from 17 home Tests at 42.03. In two neutral venue matches, Gill has 67 runs at just 16.75. Ponting emphasized this difference saying "But the numbers don't really stack up, do they, away from home?"
Gill's recent performance and Ponting's observations
Since his famous Gabba heroics in 2021, where he scored a vital 91, Gill has only registered one Test century away from home (against Bangladesh in 2022). After an injury kept him out of the series opener in Perth, his scores have been underwhelming with 31 and 28 in Adelaide and a mere one run in Brisbane. Ponting noted that Gill could be overthinking his approach.
Ponting's advice for Gill's improvement
Ponting suggested Gill could improve his performance by trusting his instincts more. He said, "If anything, I think he needs to back himself a little bit more, needs to back his defensive technique a little bit more here in Australia and still find a way to be able to score and score quickly." The advice comes ahead of the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Melbourne on Boxing Day.
