Former Cricketer turned commentator and expert analyst Aakash Chopra has explained the real reason why top-order batsman Shubman Gill failed to score runs in India’s dramatic 1st Test loss against England by 28 runs at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium which was also their first-ever defeat in the venue in the longest format.
Shubman Gill produced mediocre performances across both innings in the 1st Test and failed to provide stability from the number 3 position, which is considered a very important slot especially when the openers do not get off to a flyer, something that occurred during India’s 231-run chase in the 4th innings.
The 24-year-old has experienced major turbulence in his form, especially in the red-ball format since the 2-match Test series in South Africa earlier this month. Gill had scores of 2, 26, 36, and 10 across the 2 Tests against the Proteas in Centurion and Cape Town.
His inefficiency to score runs in challenging foreign conditions like the one in South Africa, made him a subject of major criticism with many raising questions if he can replicate his home performances on overseas soil. Gill does not face many problems while playing in flat batting decks but whenever he has walked out to bat in tricky surfaces, his woes have more often than not surfaced.
Whether it’s his technique, which is at fault, or his mindset, one thing is for sure, Shubman Gill needs to spend a considerable amount of time in the nets under the supervision of Rahul Dravid and his entourage. And how much time is enough time is something that Gill needs to answer himself or else he is not far away from becoming just another batter who had plenty of promise but succumbed to the fame and limelight.
He was trying his best to resist giving up his wicket against England bowlers in the 2nd innings where he scored 23 off 66 before falling prey to left-arm off-spinner Tom Hartley’s deceiving delivery. In the 4th innings, it didn’t even look like it was the same Gill that scored more than 1200 runs in the ODI format last year as he got out for a 2-ball duck and gave his wicket to Hartley’s finger spin yet again.
Aakash Chopra Opines That Shubman Gill Should Master The Art Of Countering Left-Arm Off Spin
While everyone is looking for answers on the sudden dip of Shubman Gill’s form, Aakash Chopra has reasoned that his hard hands and low confidence have a lot to do with his purple patch.
“Shubman Gill’s confidence is rock-bottom at the moment. He might have an average close to or less than 20 in his last 11 innings. The highest is not 40 and he is struggling against left-arm spin. He went with hard hands and got caught out at silly point.” – Chopra said.
Since his 128-run knock against Australia in last year’s Border-Gavaskar trophy that came in a batting-friendly track at Ahmedabad, Shubman Gill has not been able to even touch the 40-run mark in the next 6 Tests including the WTC final in England before the Test series in West Indies and South Africa.
The Fazilka-born batter has scored 1063 runs until now in 21 outings at an average of almost 30 including 2 centuries and 4 half-centuries.
The post “Shubman Gill’s confidence is rock bottom..”- Aakash Chopra on whether Indian batsman will get more chances in the Test series appeared first on CricketAddictor.
