"I Worked On...": Gill Reveals Strategy To Improve In Test Cricket

Shubman Gill credited working on his defensive batting as key to his turnaround in Test fortunes during the England series earlier in the year. The 24-year-old has an average of 35.52 after playing 25 Tests, and he smashed 452 runs in the home series against England. "I worked on my defence a little bit more, especially against the spinners," Gill told ESPNCricinfo, as quoted by the ICC. Currently, Gill is playing in the Duleep Trophy as captain of the India A side.

He displayed an average performance in India A's first innings as he scored 25 runs from 43 balls at a strike rate of 58.14. The 24-year-old hit three fours during his time on the crease at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Gill added that one should be able to defend more when they are playing on a turning track. He revealed that his main focus during the five-match Test series against England was to play more defensive shots.

"If you're playing on a turning track, you should be able to defend a lot more, then you play your scoring shots. I feel it [batting-friendly tracks in white-ball games] takes away a little bit of your defensive game over a period of time. So that was my focus in the England series," he added.

Gill made his Test debut against Australia in 2020. Following that, he has played 25 long-format matches and 46 innings, where he has scored 1492 runs at a strike rate of 59.37.

He went on to make a crucial hundred in Vizag in the second Test and finished the series against England with an average of 56.5.

India will be playing a two-match Test and three-game T20I series against Bangladesh at home from September 19 to October 12. This will be followed by a three-match test series against New Zealand from October 16 to November 5.

These two series' will pave India's preparation for the Border Gavaskar Trophy later this year.

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