Youngster Shubman Gill has emerged as the player to watch out for in Indian cricket. In his debut series against Australia in Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Gill played the last three Tests and grabbed the opportunities with both hands.
Gill finished the series as the fourth-highest run-getter for India and sixth overall. He managed to amass 259 runs in 3 Tests at an average of 51.80 with a best of 91 in the series-deciding final Test at The Gabba in Brisbane.
Gill’s ability to play a variety of shots against the top-quality bowling line-up featuring Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon impressed everyone as he received praise from all corners of the world.
Former West Indies cricketer Ian Bishop also closely followed the epic Australia-India Test series and hailed Gill for doing justice to the opener’s slot. However, Bishop pointed out a flaw in Gills batting technique.
While speaking to Sportstar, Bishop lauded the Punjab batsman for his remarkable capability of playing the short balls on the relatively quick pitches down under.
“In Australia, on those slightly bouncier pitches, Gill’s ability to playback and forward appropriately, to take on the short ball with aplomb, as a subcontinental player is the hallmark of the new generation of batsmen,” said Bishop.
Concerning a flaw in Gill’s batting style, the cricketer-turned-commentator mentioned that the young Indian batsman has a tendency to play from the leg-stump which encourages bowlers to deliver the ball outside off-stump in order to attract the outside edge.
Bishop compared Gill with former India opener Virender Sehwag, stating that Viru had the same approach, but he managed to modify it at the right time.
“He does have a glitch in technique which I was concerned about. He often plays from the leg stump, or leg side of the ball, which encourages seamers to challenge him around the fourth or fifth stump and bring the outside edge into play.”
“Much in a way like Virender Sehwag used to do, and he wasn’t too bad a player. In his final innings at Brisbane, he came across his stumps more at times and didn’t let his hands and bat stray too far from his body where he lost control of his stroke outside his eye line. So, he seems aware of it and is prepared to adapt. If he can achieve that, he will be able to continue to score under almost all conditions,” Bishop added.
