IND vs ENG: Day after heavily criticising Shubman Gill, Pietersen reveals details about chat with Rahul Dravid

IND vs ENG: Day after heavily criticising Shubman Gill, Pietersen reveals details about chat with Rahul Dravid

Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen was heavily critical of India batter Shubman Gill on Day 2 of the first Test match, after the youngster was dismissed for just 23 runs. Pietersen criticised Gill’s approach and said that Shubman Gill not able to rotate singles early in his innings is putting him in a lot of trouble.

Speaking ahead of Day 3 in Hyderabad, Pietersen revealed that he chatted with India head coach Rahul Dravid. Pietersen was asked to reveal the details about the chat and the former England cricketer did not disappoint. Speaking via the official broadcaster, Pietersen said that he spoke to Dravid about how to take a positive approach with the bat in Indian conditions.

“We discussed batting in India again. Just reacquainting what the positive options are, and also you know, you sometimes get caught up in what the opposition is doing and you sometimes forget about how good you are,” Pietersen said on Star Sports ahead of Day 3 of the 1st Test match in Hyderabad.

IND vs ENG, 1st Test: Day 3 Live Updates

“In life, you have got to trust what you do, it was nice to spend time with someone who was so good and helped me in my career. Yesterday I was critical of Gill and I was praising KL Rahul and its just about understanding players and their ability. It is always nice to speak to somebody of the stature and is doing the so well for team India,” he further added.

IND v ENG, 1st Test Scorecard

Why was Shubman Gill criticised?

India batter Shubman Gill, who currently is playing the No. 3 role in the Test team, got out for 23 runs, while trying to get off the blocks. Gill looked tentative throughout his 66-ball innings and struggled to score runs.

Kevin Pietersen was critical of the batter and said that he needed to learn how to get off strike. India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik went one step further and said that the batter might have been worried about his Test career.

“You can see pressure has gone to Shubman Gill. He knows if he fails a couple of times, his career, for the moment, could be on the line. So, you could see that reluctance,” Dinesh Karthik said on Cricbuzz.

Gill has had a run of low scores since shifting to No. 3. The batter has not scored a single half-century at the position in 9 innings.

Also Read | IND vs ENG, 1st Test: Eoin Morgan feels India tour will be ‘biggest test of England’s method’ in red-ball cricket