Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen has supported out-of-form Shubman Gill after his poor performance in the opening Test against England in Hyderabad. After consecutive poor Test series in West Indies and South Africa, the 24-year-old scored 23 and 0 in the first Test against England

The focus on Gill increased because India suffered a crushing 28-run defeat and the team is now trailing 0-1 in the five-match series. Speaking to Geo Cinema after the first Test, Pietersen said that Gill will play the next Test in Visakhapatnam and added that he was happy to see the youngster batting.

I am not at all worried about Shubman Gill’s performance – Kevin Pietersen

Pietersen said, “I don’t think you can drop someone from the team by playing one Test match. He will definitely play in Vizag and let’s see how he prepares for the next Test. Don’t sideline Shubman Gill and don’t say that he can’t play. He can play. When you talk about emotions, he gives me a feeling of immense happiness and joy when he comes out to bat. I want to see him bat.”

Kevin Pietersen admitted that Shubman Gill’s Test figures are much lower than those of a batsman of his calibre, yet he remains confident in his ability. Peterson said, “The averages are not looking good and it is not good to see these figures. You don’t want to see them.

But there is a reason why he is batting at number 3, it is because of the kind of player he is and what he can do. So I am not too worried about getting out twice. I am worried about his performance in the second and third Test.”