Former Indian cricketer Abhishek Nayar feels it will not be easy for Shubman Gillto adapt to all three formats while being an all-format player. India will take on South Africa in an all-format series comprising two Tests, three ODIs and five T20Is.

Nayar highlighted how players start thinking about their strike rate and manner in which each format has to be played the moment they become a constant part of teams in multiple formats. Nayar's comments about Gill came after an underwhelming shift from Tests to the white-ball format for the top-order batter, as he failed to make opportunities count in the recently-concluded T20I series against Australia.

"It's not easy. No matter how much we discuss, for any player, when you play a format for a long time, it becomes easy for you as you get used to it. When you switch between formats, at times you think about increasing your strike rate. When you come here, you will have to bring your strike rate down. You have to take your time," stated Nayar while speaking on JioHotstar's Game Plan.

The former India assistant coach opined that Gill's approach will decide the manner in which he handles the pressure of expectations. He complimented how the 26-year-old grew as a batter and captain during the record-breaking England tour for the latter.

"Workload management is a thing that's been sidelined for Shubman for now because he's playing cricket continuously. He won't complain. It remains to be seen what his mentality will be. He'll once again be in the leadership role. According to me, it'll be difficult. He's been phenomenal. I remember going into the England series, (there were) so many questions. From the first game to the last game, you not only saw Shubman the batter evolve, but you also saw Shubman the leader evolve," he replied.

Gill did not have the best of tours of Australia. He scored disappointing returns across all the games, failing to score a fifty on the entire tour. He did not look at his sharpest even during India's title-winning 2025 Asia Cup campaign, scoring just 127 runs in seven matches.

The first Test of the South Africa series is slated to commence on November 14 at the Eden Gardens. There will be a lot of eyeballs on how the India captain performs and lead the team throughout the Tests and ODIs.