Kevin Pietersen thanks Shubman Gill after proving him right with timely ton vs England in Vizag

Former England skipper and batting icon Kevin Pietersen was proved right once again. The 42-year-old had asked the fans to show patience towards Shubman Gill. After Gill was out for 34 in the first innings, Pietersen had compared his situation to Jacques Kallis.

This left many fans bewildered after Pietersen’s Tweet went viral. “Kallis averaged 22 in his first 10 Tests and turned out to be arguably the greatest player to play the game. Give Shubman Gill time to find it please. He’s a serious player” KP had tweeted

On Sunday the backing from Kevin Pietersen proved right as Shuman Gill scored his third Test century. It was a timely century as the young batter was under immense pressure to keep his spot in the team. After this century KP took to Twitter and thanked the young Indian batter. 

Thank you, @ShubmanGill 🩵 https://t.co/uZNRFHh5Mv

— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) February 4, 2024

Can Shubman Gill keep his place in the team?

Walking into bat at the fall of Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, young Shubman Gill knew he was under pressure. He was given out LBW to Tom Hartley with the Indian score reading 34/2. 

The review was taken with a touch of reluctance but luck was certainly on Gill’s side. The third umpire had spotted a thin edge off the bat and the batter survived the call. In the next over, James Anderson slanted the ball as Gill played across the line. Yet another DRS and yet another reprieve earned the Indian star a chance to make it big. 

With Cheteshwar Pujara knocking the door down with his runs, the pressure to perform was on the batter. After playing off the first few overs, the talented young batter began showing confidence. 

With a huge six down the ground against Shoaib Bashir, the feet began moving. It was almost like watching the 2023 version of Shubman Gill who seemed sure of his feet movement. 

Rehan Ahmed was hit for 2 fours and a six in a single over and suddenly the tide was shifting. Visakhapatnam stood in unison when Gill reached his century but the proudest man was Kevin Pietersen. No one can be as good as Jacques Kallis but if Shubman Gill can become half the player India will have another legend to look up to.