India Test captain Shubman Gill smashed twin centuries against England during the second Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham which broke a plethora of records. English's former white-ball captain Jos Buttler who is a fellow teammate of Gill in Gujarat Titans, lauded the youngster for his historic 269.
While praising Gill for his stellar performance, he reflected on the practices done by Punjab-born player to stay in form and improve his technicalities which included a good amount of underarm drills, to improve his focus.
“Whatever he’s doing is working," Buttler began on the ‘For The Love Of Cricket’ Podcast. “So I’d be like I want the same guy to give me throwdowns, want to do the same routine that I did.
“Having played a little bit with him in the IPL, he does a lot of basic drills and does a lot of underarm drills, just grooving his shape. You’d think why would a Test cricketer be doing underarm drills but it’s just the muscle memory, moving into the right positions, hitting the ball late, that’s something he talks about a lot and practices a lot.
“Hit the ball to the ground and let the ball come to him, which is a trait of all the best players. He’ll be doing lot of those kind of drills."
Buttler cautions England
Buttler highlighted the need for the England team to figure out a strategy which can defeat India, following the toss error made by captain Ben Stokes to bowl first on a flat pitch. He feels that the India skipper should not be given any further opportunity to break more records at The Lord's.
“We hope as England fans that he doesn’t go on and break more records. We need to find answers to get him out," he added.
“As a batter when you’re in that space you feel untouchable. You want to keep that momentum and energy on your side. Stay in that bubble."
Father's impact on Gill's game
Buttler also talked about the impact of Gill's father on his development and growth and how he looks up to him for learning the game.
“His dad has been quite influential and been a coach of his while growing up so I’m sure he’s got a couple of phone calls from him saying keep playing. He’ll be someone who he’ll be turning to and leaning on for his game," Buttler concluded.