Shubman Gill has been hailed as the future of Indian cricket and represents India in all three formats. His record in the IPL with the Gujarat Titans (GT) has been phenomenal. Shubman Gill is called the ‘Prince’ – successor to the ‘King’, Virat Kohli and ever since his debut in Test color, the batter has shown that he can have success on any track
Shubman Gill had a disastrous start to the ongoing Test series against South Africa. He managed only 28 runs from both innings. His stay on the crease was limited to only 49 balls and failed to stabilize the Indian innings against the marauding South African pacers.
Is test format not Shubman Gill’s cup of tea?
Shubman Gill has seen a serious dip in form in the red ball format. In 35 innings, he is six shy of a thousand runs, with his average dropping to 31. That is alarming, considering his phenomenal start to his Test career and overall record as a cricketer.
One of the reasons for his dismal red-ball performance has been the failure to adjust to the long format. Red ball is a different scenario for batters, and it takes a monumental adjustment to your attitude and approach to batting.
Why does a Test match require a different approach?
The red ball swings more; it moves more in the air and off the pitch than a white ball. The ball swings for a longer duration, keeping the seamers at play. It has a better bounce. All these factors are enhanced when playing in SENA countries.
The seamers bowl in a test match in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand in all the sessions in a day. The batters must give time on the pitch, understand the degree of swing, read the bounce and avoid the horizontal bat. Playing on the fourth-fifth stump is perilous.
Remember how the great Sachin Tendulkar did not play a single cover drive at Austalia in the 2008 series? His run of poor scores was attributed to his dismissals playing the shot. Imagine, the best batter in the world did not play his best shot in his entire innings in which he scored a double century!!!!
Discipline, discipline, discipline…..
Shubman Gill will have to show the highest levels of discipline and curb his attacking instincts, at least at the beginning of an innings, to do better in overseas Tests. One of the characteristics of a top-grade batter is the ability to play swing bowling for long periods.
Future
Shubman Gill will have to come good soon. Not just for his own sake, but also for the sake of the Indian team in the Test format. Few batters have shown the temperament to adjust from white ball to red.
The ones who do, etch their names in the annals of cricket. Shubman Gill has the talent, the question is, does he have the temperament to do so?
“He is playing a bit too aggressively in Test cricket” – Sunil Gavaskar points out the reason behind Shubman Gill’s red-ball struggles, talking to Star Sports.