'Do Things That Will Help Him Become a Better Player': Kevin Pietersen Advises Rahul Dravid to Spend Time With Shubman Gill

Veteran England batter Kevin Pietersen suggested that India head coach Rahul Dravid should take Shubman Gill under his wings and spend time with him to help the youngster improve his red-ball game.

Shubman has been going through a lean patch in the red-ball format since taking the number 3 spot. He has scored just 189 runs in 9 innings at an average of 23.62 and is yet to score a half-century while batting at number 3.

His poor form continued in the first innings of the Hyderabad Test against England as he managed to get just 23 and succumbed under pressure against debutant Tom Hartley.

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It was the fifth ball of the 35th over and Gill tried to break the shackles and played the shot at mid-wicket where Ben Duckett took an easy catch to end his stay in the middle.

Pietersen said that head coach Dravid, who also helped him change his game, should help Shubman become a better player and get him to improve his game on the off-side.

“He has somebody in the dressing room who changed my game: Rahul Dravid. I don’t know if he will watch this broadcast, but go and spend time with Gill and do the same stuff he talked to me about. Get him to hit the ball on the off-side, practice picking the lengths better, and rotation of the strike. Do things that will help him become a better player,” Pietersen said during the Lunch show on JioCinema.

After flop shows in the back-to-back series, Shubman’s place in the Indian Test team has come under the scanners with other players waiting in line to get their chance.

Pietersen talked highly of Gill but criticised his ability to rotate strike which usually forces him to play a risky shot to score runs.

“He’s a quality player in Shubman Gill, and no, I’m not disappointed in how he got out. I’m disappointed that he has not got that ability yet (to rotate strike). But then, he’s a kid. Give him that ability; give him that structure. If he rotates the strike and learns that from Rahul Dravid, and if the latter takes him under his wings, the world is his,” said Pietersen further.