Former Indian captain Anil Kumble has pointed out a key problem in young Indian batsman Shubman Gill’s batting technique after he was dismissed cheaply in the ongoing first Test against England in Hyderabad. The 24-year-old was dismissed on 23 runs by England debutant Tom Hartley, after scoring 14 the night before.
Shubman Gill has struggled in red-ball cricket and does not have a good Test record. He has an average of 30.37 in Test cricket and has two hundreds to his name, against Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Ahmedabad last year and against Bangladesh in away circumstances.
Shubman Gill’s attempt to swat Hartley landed in the hands of Ben Duckett at mid-wicket, earning the left-arm spinner his first Test wicket in red-ball Cricket. During the lunch break on Day 2, Anil Kumble advised Gill to learn how to rotate strikes, especially against spinners. He also urged him to play spin bowling with soft hands, which could help him improve his performance in Test cricket.
“The pressure kept on growing and he couldn’t rotate the strike. He will have to learn this. If he wants to bat at no. 3, especially on Indian tracks where spinners will cause trouble, he will have to rotate strikes. Even when he came out to bat yesterday, he took his time as you don’t want to lose your wicket.”
“He got stuck today as well. Wanted to play the release shot against the turn, which I don’t think was the ideal shot. If he has to slot in that no.3 roles like Pujara or Dravid, he will have to rotate strike. He needs to play spin with soft hands and use his wrist. This is something he needs to add to his game,” Anil Kumble said.
Shubman Gill has struggled to justify his third-place spot in the Test team. During the West Indies tour last year, he voluntarily gave up his opening position to Jaiswal, but he has yet to justify that decision. He has not scored a fifty in that position yet. In six Tests, Shubman Gill has only scored 189 runs and he has not scored a fifty in that position yet.
On the other hand, Shubman Gill had an outstanding 2023 season where he scored the most runs in ODIs and won the Polly Umrigar Award for the year at the BCCI Awards. He finished as the IPL 2023’s leading run-scorer and has been a part of the Indian setup in all three formats of the game.
However, the young batter has been struggling to perform for the team in recent times. His place in the Indian Test team would be under question if he fails to make an impact in the second innings.
