AHMEDABAD: It’s the fourth ball of the eighth over in the third ODI, and opener Shubman Gill is walking down the track to England pacer Saqib Mahmood. Mahmood and fellow pacer Mark Wood, who has already accounted for captain Rohit Sharma, have been consistently trying to hit the lengths which will deprive batters room to hit their shots.
Gill, though, is a step ahead. The walk down the pitch allows him to manoeuvre the length, free his arms and hit the ball over wide mid-on. Gill oozes class, and he repeats the shot often during his innings.
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His methods help him bring up his seventh ODI ton, a wellmade 112 which helps India amass 356, in reply to which England are bowled out for 214.
The same shot, however, had led to Gill’s downfall in the second innings on a more livelier Sydney pitch, in the fifth Test against Australia in January. Gill had danced down the track to debutant pacer Beau Webster, only to see him get an edge which was gobbled up by wicketkeeper Alex Carey.
Gill, it appears, has worked on the shot since then. Former India player and Gill’s Punjab teammate Gurkeerat Singh Mann, who watched him train after returning from Australia, says Gill rectified some mistakes by repeatedly practising the shot in the nets. “One thing about Gill’s game and his nature is that he won’t drop or remove the shot from his arsenal. He will perfect it. He will see where we went wrong while playing the shot, work on it and keep attempting it till he perfects it,” Mann told TOI.
Mann said Gill focused on maintaining his head position both while the ball was being delivered and at the moment of connection. “He would ensure his head would not fall down, feet were aligned and his balance was maintained,” Mann said. “Gill missed out on a century in the first two matches so a century was always on the cards.”
India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir too praised Gill’s approach and welcome return to form ahead of the Champions Trophy. Asked what has worked well for Gill in ODIs, a format in which he has shown remarkable consistency unlike in Tests, Gambhir retorted, “The problem is that we keep judging people after every inning. He’s still a young batter, still 25. He’s got a great future ahead of him. He’s been consistent in one format. Test cricket is tough cricket and he’s shown that he belongs to that format as well. I hope that going ahead, he can actually deliver in that format as well.”
“If someone can do it in 50-over cricket, why can’t he do it in Test cricket as well? He’s played some really good innings in the Test format as well. So by judging a young cricketer after every inning, we’re not going to carry Indian cricket forward. You’ve got to start putting trust in these young players. Imagine what can happen in the next couple of years if we keep backing him and keep backing a lot of young cricketers in that dressing room. That is something we need to be clear about,” Gambhir added.
“Rohit Sharma said he likes batting with Gill as he maintains his game irrespective of how Sharma goes about his own run-scoring at the top of the order,” Mann said, “When the time comes for the greats to retire, the transition will be smooth with the likes of Gill around.” For now, Gill’s form will be crucial for India heading into the Champions Trophy.