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Legendary spinner Anil Kumble found a big flaw in Shubman Gill's batting style following star batter's dismissal for a lowly score of 23 runs in the ongoing first Test against England in Hyderabad. Shubman Gill, resuming with an overnight score of 14, was removed by England's newcomer Tom Hartley cheaply.
Gill's attempt to hit Hartley saw him handing a catch to Ben Duckett at mid-wicket. Gill's dismissal marked Hartley's first wicket in Test cricket.
Meanwhile, Kumble emphasised the importance of Gill improving his strike rotation, particularly when facing spin bowling. He advised Gill to adopt a softer approach when playing against spinners, citing the examples of Cheteshwar Pujara and Rahul Dravid, who both had successful careers batting at the number 3 position.
“Un par dabaav badhta gaya aur vo strike rotate nahi kar paaye (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,” Kumble told Sports 18 amid India vs England's first Test.
"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,” Kumble further added.
Shubman enjoyed a stellar 2023 season, emerging as the leading run-scorer in ODIs and clinching the Polly Umrigar Award at the BCCI Awards. He also topped the scoring charts in the IPL 2023, making significant contributions to the Indian Team with the bat. His impressive performance earned him the role of the primary opener for India in the ODI World Cup 2023. However, Gill's World Cup journey began with a setback as he missed the first two matches due to dengue. His return to the team in the match against Pakistan marked the start of a declining phase in his form. Post-World Cup, Gill's performance has been lackluster, with no centuries to his name in the tournament, and a continued struggle in various formats thereafter.
In Test cricket, Gill's record has been modest, with only a few impressive knocks in the longer format. He holds an average of 30.37 in Tests, having scored two centuries, one against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Ahmedabad last year and another against Bangladesh in Bangladesh. Despite his proven potential and expectations of being India's future batting luminary, Gill's inconsistent form poses a challenge to his position in the team.
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