‘Need to be bit patient with them’: India batting coach Vikram Rathour bats for Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer

Visakhapatnam: India batting coach Vikram Rathour has urged for young players like Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal to be given a longer rope after the trio combined to score just 151 runs in the six combined chances they got in the first Test. Of this, 80 runs came from Jaiswal’s bat in the first innings itself, meaning just 71 runs were scored in the rest of the innings.

India held the upper hand in the first Test, leading by 190 runs after the first innings. However, in the second instalment, they slipped from 42-0 to being all out for 202 runs in 69.2 overs.

“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 (Shubman) Gill, (Yashasvi) Jaiswal and (Shreyas) Iyer will eventually start getting big runs, I’m sure of it,” Rathour said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Gill has played 21 Tests for India, but has not scored a half century in his last nine innings. Iyer, meanwhile, has appeared in 13 Test matches.

“There’s a difference between playing with intent and playing attacking cricket. I want them to play with intent. If there is the opportunity to score some runs, they should take it,” Rathour said. “They need to decide by looking at the surface and conditions. So, the batters need to possess that intelligence as to which is the best or safest shot on the surface.”

Rathour said that India could have shown more discipline in the second innings with the bat.

“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 said.

“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.

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