Sunil Gavaskar has asked Shubman Gill to curb his aggressive intentions while batting in Tests after the young batsman failed to produce substantial scores in the first Test against South Africa in Centurion.

Gill scored two and 26 at the SuperSport Park and was dismissed off pacers Nandre Burger and Marco Jansen in the first and second innings, respectively, as India lost the opening Test by an innings and 32 runs.

Gavaskar advised Gill to take in the different needs of Test cricket as compared to the white-ball formats.

"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.

"The red ball moves a little more in the air than the white ball and off the pitch as well. It bounces a little more too. He should keep that in mind,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.

While Gill had a fine run in the limited-over versions, he has managed to score only one 50-plus score in the traditional format in 10 innings in 2023: a hundred against Australia in Ahmedabad back in March.

His nine other outings produced scores of 21, 5, 13, 18, 6, 10, 29 not out, 2 and 26. The delivery that shapes and darts in tends to create genuine problems for Gill, something James Anderson had pointed out in early 2021 when England toured India the last time.

Australian quick Scott Boland also showed that when he cleaned Gill up in the last World Test Championship final at The Oval back in June.

Gavaskar hoped that Gill would find his range sooner than later.

"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,” said Gavaskar.

India will be aiming to square the series in the second and final Test in Cape Town, beginning on Wednesday.

Written with PTI inputs