JOHANNESBURG: Former South African skipper Graeme Smith is quite impressed with the way Shubman Gill has made his presence felt in world cricket. The India youngster had recently hogged the limelight with an ODI double ton against New Zealand and T20 centuries against Sri Lanka and New Zealand.
Smith, who has 9265 Test runs to his credit, feels the Punjab boy may need some time to settle down in Test cricket.
“Gill definitely has got the talent and the ability. But for a player to develop, it’s often about figuring out your strengths and weaknesses,” he told TOI here on Tuesday.
Talking about different skill sets needed for Test cricket, Smith, one of the game’s greatest openers, said: “As an opening batter in Test cricket, you probably need a slightly better defensive game and work on how you leave deliveries and be aware of the channels you want to play your shots.”
The former left-hander sees Test cricket as most challenging as “ODI and T20 cricket is much more about strokeplay, but in the five-day game, bowlers tend to attack you much more with a definite gameplan. Gill is too good a player not to be successful. I feel as he plays more Test matches, gains experience and learns about the longer version of the game, he will mature.”
However, he is not sure whether Gill should be looked upon as India’s next Test opener right away.
“That’s the problem in India. You have so much talent. How can you ignore KL Rahul? It’s not an easy call,” the 42-year-old stated.
Taking up the administrator’s role as the commissioner of SA20, Smith is now enjoying the over and play the inaugural edition of the competition.
“While building this (SA20) up, there was a tough conversation about attracting international cricketers, keeping in mind the history of SA’s failed attempt to organize this earlier and there were auctions for Big Bash League and ILT20 almost at the same time. So I am very grateful to players like (Jos) Buttler, (Jason) Roy, Rashid Khan and many others who decided to back SA cricket and give it a chance,” he stated.
However, he is still not sure whether SA20 can get a window free of international matches, as in the case of IPL.
“I can’t see that happening for every league. But with more franchise cricket leagues coming up, I feel there’s a need to sit down and work out what is the right way forward.”
Smith, who has 9265 Test runs to his credit, feels the Punjab boy may need some time to settle down in Test cricket.
“Gill definitely has got the talent and the ability. But for a player to develop, it’s often about figuring out your strengths and weaknesses,” he told TOI here on Tuesday.
Talking about different skill sets needed for Test cricket, Smith, one of the game’s greatest openers, said: “As an opening batter in Test cricket, you probably need a slightly better defensive game and work on how you leave deliveries and be aware of the channels you want to play your shots.”
The former left-hander sees Test cricket as most challenging as “ODI and T20 cricket is much more about strokeplay, but in the five-day game, bowlers tend to attack you much more with a definite gameplan. Gill is too good a player not to be successful. I feel as he plays more Test matches, gains experience and learns about the longer version of the game, he will mature.”
However, he is not sure whether Gill should be looked upon as India’s next Test opener right away.
“That’s the problem in India. You have so much talent. How can you ignore KL Rahul? It’s not an easy call,” the 42-year-old stated.
Taking up the administrator’s role as the commissioner of SA20, Smith is now enjoying the over and play the inaugural edition of the competition.
“While building this (SA20) up, there was a tough conversation about attracting international cricketers, keeping in mind the history of SA’s failed attempt to organize this earlier and there were auctions for Big Bash League and ILT20 almost at the same time. So I am very grateful to players like (Jos) Buttler, (Jason) Roy, Rashid Khan and many others who decided to back SA cricket and give it a chance,” he stated.
However, he is still not sure whether SA20 can get a window free of international matches, as in the case of IPL.
“I can’t see that happening for every league. But with more franchise cricket leagues coming up, I feel there’s a need to sit down and work out what is the right way forward.”
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