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'Thank You' - Kevin Pietersen Reacts As Shubman Gill Justifies His 'Serious Player' Tag

image-ls79qz56Shubman Gill scored a brillian ton in Vizag (Twitter)

Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen's support for Indian batsman Shubman Gill proved prescient as Gill scored an impressive century on the third day of the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam. Despite Gill's struggles in the first innings, where he was dismissed for 34 runs by James Anderson, Pietersen had urged critics to be patient with the young talent.

Pietersen lauded Gill's century in latest tweet

Pietersen, in his defense of Gill, had highlighted the need for patience with emerging talents, citing the legendary South African cricketer Jacques Kallis' initial average of 22 after 10 Tests as a precedent for growth.

Gill responded on the field with a brilliant 104 off 147 balls, featuring 11 fours and two sixes, before being caught by Ben Foakes off the bowling of Shoaib Bashir. This performance was a significant upturn for Gill, who had not scored a half-century in his last 12 Test innings, with his last fifty-plus score dating back to March 2023 against Australia in Ahmedabad.

Following Gill's century, Pietersen took to Twitter to express his delight and vindication, writing, “Thank you @shubmangill,” accompanied by a blue heart emoji, as a nod to his earlier support.

This tweet followed a period of scrutiny for Gill, who had been unable to replicate his promising start in international cricket since the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21. During that series, Gill had emerged as a key player for India, contributing significantly to India's win, including a sensational 91 on Day 5 of the historic Gabba Test, which ended Australia's 32-year dominance at the venue.

Despite a challenging phase post his debut series, where he averaged 26.18 with two fifties and two hundreds from 34 innings, Gill's latest performance has highlighted the potential Pietersen had advocated for.