'Gill's confidence is rock-bottom at the moment' - Former India player attack on Shubman Gill after his dismal performance against England in first Test

The ace commentator Aakash Chopra believes that Shubman Gill's dismissal in India's second innings of the first Test against England in Hyderabad was partly due to his lack of confidence. On the fourth day of the series opener on Sunday, January 28, the visitors set Rohit Sharma and his team a target of 231 runs. However, Gill failed to make any contribution as India were bowled out for 202, resulting in a 28-run defeat. Chopra shared his thoughts on India's chase in a video posted on his YouTube channel.

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The former India opener added that Shubman Gill's confidence is currently at rock bottom. He noted that Gill's average in his last 11 innings might be close to or less than 20, with his highest score not exceeding 40. Gill is reportedly struggling against left-arm spin and was caught out at a silly point after playing with hard hands. In his most recent 11 Test innings, Gill has accumulated 173 runs, averaging 17.30. His highest score during this stretch was 36 runs in India's first innings of the Cape Town Test against South Africa.

"Shubman Gill's confidence is rock-bottom at the moment. Shubman Gill might have an average close to or less than 20 in his last 11 innings. The highest is not 40 and he is struggling against left-arm spin. He went with hard hands and got caught out at silly point," the cricketer turned commentator said on his YouTube channel.

Ashwin and Bharat were playing well: Chopra

Chopra observed that Srikar Bharat and Ravichandran Ashwin, who built a 57-run partnership for the eighth wicket, departed in different manners. The former India batter pointed out that Mohammed Siraj's dismissal in the final over, attempting a reckless slog, couldn't be faulted. However, the ace commentator also suggested that the outcome might have varied if Ashwin hadn't thrown away his wicket similarly, especially considering the 25-run partnership added by Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah for the last wicket.

"Both Ashwin and Bharat were playing well. Bharat scored 28 but he got a good delivery - came in, went out after pitching, and hit the stumps. It was a wicket-taking ball. Ashwin also went as soon as he (Bharat) got out. He too scored 28 runs and got out while playing a very bad shot," Chopra concluded.