Ahead of the second Test against South Africa in Cape Town starting Wednesday, legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar advised Shubman Gill to cut down his aggressive intent while facing the red ball. Gavaskar said that the red ball tends to move a bit more and has more bounce in comparison to the white ball used in limited overs games.

“I think he is playing a bit too aggressively in Test cricket. There is a slight difference when you play Test cricket when compared to T20I and ODI cricket. The difference is in the ball,” Gavaskar said.

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“The red ball moves a little more than the white ball in the air and off the pitch as well. It bounces a little more too. He should keep that in mind,” he explained.

Gill, who has been very successful in the shorter versions, encountered a topsy-turvy outing when it comes to his Test career, and his recent failures in Centurion, where India lost the first Test against the Proteas by an innings and 32 runs, once again highlighted his weakness in conditions where the pitch offers a bit of movement.

In the first innings, the Mohali right-hander was caught down leg when he looked to glance a wide delivery from debutant left-arm pacer Nandre Burger that reared up on a spicy opening-day pitch, and got knocked over by the lanky Marco Jansen when he tried to play across the line in the second. His scores were 2 and 26, after coming in at No. 3.

His scores in the Centurion Test meant he finished 2023 with an under-30 average in Tests for the third consecutive year. His century against Australia on a flat Ahmedabad pitch was the only time he crossed 30 in his 10 innings.

On the contrary, Gill has been hugely successful in white ball cricket throughout the past year, producing 1584 ODI runs at an average of 63.36 and strike rate of 105.45, and 1,202 T20 runs at an average and strike rate of 44.51 and 154.30.

 “Shubman Gill started off his career so well and we praised his shots. We can only hope that he gets back into his form. Hope he trains harder and does well in the future,” Gavaskar said.

Shradul fine after getting hit on shoulder

Shardul Thakur, who sustained a blow to his left shoulder while batting during a net session, is reportedly doing fine. According to a source, Thakur did not require any further scans, and had continued batting after being hit.

The incident took place on Saturday during an optional training session at Centurion, where Shardul was facing throwdowns from a member of the support staff. It has been learnt that the bowling all-rounder was among the seven eight players that showed up for the session. Among them were skipper Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, and KS Bharat, in addition to Shardul. All the coaches were there at the venue.

While the lineup for the second Test, starting at the Newlands Stadium on January 3, has not been revealed, it will be interesting to see whether the team persists with the same bowling attack, or replace debutant Prasidh Krishna, whose performance in the first Test that ended in three days, has been criticized.

While Avesh Khan has been included in the squad, Mukesh Kumar could also be the likely alternative that the team management might be tempted to pick. Ravindra Jadeja, who missed the first Test due to a back spasm, is also likely to make a return as the conditions in Cape Town look promising for spinners.

Coetzee ruled out of Cape Town Test

After skipper Temba Bavuma, South Africa suffered another blow as fast bowler Gerald Coetzee has also been ruled out of the second Test because of pelvic inflammation. The hosts have not named a replacement.

According to Cricket South Africa (CSA), Coetzee suffered during the first Test, and his discomfort got “progressively worse while bowling” in the second innings against India. After undergoing scans on Friday, the extent of the injury was revealed, and subsequently South Africa coach Conrad Shukri opted to release the right-arm pacer from the squad “as a precautionary measure,” but there is no indication if he will be fit for the SA20, which starts January 10.

Coetzee bowled only five overs in India’s second essay on day three before leaving the field as the hosts convincingly defeated the visitors. Tristan Stubbs took over fielding duties for the rest of the match.

While South Africa have already named Zubayr Hamza as a replacement for Bavuma, who was ruled out of the New Year’s Test with a hamstring injury, they have two pacers in the squad, who could fill in Coetzee’s place in the playing XI.

Lungi Ngidi, who despite recovering from an ankle injury, missed the first Test as he was deemed not to be match fit, is a likely replacement. All-rounder Wiaan Mulder is another option but South Africa could opt for Keshav Maharaj to extract the spinner-friendly surface in Cape Town.