‘They’re Young…Need To Be Patient’: Coach Vikram Rathour Defends Shubman Gill, Jaiswal

IND vs ENG 2nd Test: Team India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour expressed his support for promising youngsters Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and senior batter Shreyas Iyer despite their recent struggles with form. Speaking to reporters ahead of IND vs ENG 2nd Test in Vizag, coach Rathour  emphasized the importance of patience and backing for these talented batters.

Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer encountered difficulties against the English spinners during the Hyderabad Test. Gill managed scores of 23 and 0, while Iyer scored 35 and 13 in 1st and 2nd innings, respectively. Yashasvi Jaiswal starred with an impressive 80-run knock in India’s first innings. However, the opener couldn’t replicate his performance in the second innings, as he was dismissed for mere 15 runs. Their struggles contributed to India’s defeat in the match by 28 runs, leaving them trailing 0-1 in the five-match IND vs ENG Test Series.

At the press conference in Visakhapatnam ahead of IND vs ENG 2nd Test, Vikram Rathour highlighted the importance of patience with young batters in the team who have limited experience in Test cricket. Rathour also mentioned Shreyas Iyer, expressing confidence that the star southpaw will eventually find his form, contribute with runs for the team in the upcoming game.

“There are young batters in our team who have not played much Test cricket. So, we need to be a bit patient with them. Batters like Gill, Jaiswal and Iyer will eventually start getting big runs, I’m sure of it,” Rathour was quoted as saying by Insidesport.

Rathour admitted that Rohit Sharma & Co. lacked discipline in the second innings.

“Could they have batted with more discipline? Maybe they could have. That’s what they need to decide and come up with their plans,” he further added.

“But, they need to score runs by playing their shots, as you need to back your strengths. Batting is always about scoring runs. It’s not about not getting out but how many runs you put on the board.” he said.

The second Test of IND vs ENG five-match Test series will kickstart from Friday (February 2) onwards in Vizag.