On Shubman Gill’s Poor T20I Form, Gautam Gambhir’s Huge Prithvi Shaw Statement

Labelled by many as the ‘future of Indian batting’, Shubman Gill hasn’t been able to create the same impact in T20 cricket for India as he has been in ODI cricket. After yet another poor show at the top for the national team, Gill has been given a subtle warning by former India opener Gautam Gambhir who feels the player still ‘hasn’t found his feet in T20 format’. Gill was dismissed for just 11 runs off 9 balls, squandering another opportunity to become an important member of the Indian team.

After the conclusion of the 2nd T20I against New Zealand, Gambhir highlighted how Shubman has struggled against spin bowling. He urged the right-handed batter to improve the skill of handling spinners, especially on turning wickets.

“I feel Shubman Gill has to get better against spin, on a spinning wicket. He had his struggles against Bangladesh as well. Yes, he has been fabulous in the 50-over format, got good wickets to bat on, with 5 fielders inside, But then, you’ve got to get better when the ball starts spinning, gripping and bouncing as well. He will get tested, not only against seam but spin as well,” Gambhir said on Star Sports.

Gambhir also feels Gill’s ‘basic game’ suits ODI cricket more than T20 cricket. On the contrary, Prithvi Shaw is a player whose ‘basic game’ suits the shortest format more.

“He still hasn’t found his feet in T20 format, when it comes to playing international cricket. Sometimes you have to play at a different tempo. His basic game suits 50-over format. Someone like Prithvi Shaw, his basic instinctive game is made for T20 cricket. Shubman Gill is someone whose basic game is made for 50-over format. How quickly he learns and adapts to this format will decide whether he will be able to play all the three formats,” Gambhir asserted.

In the first two T20Is against New Zealand, Shubman has scored just 18 runs cumulatively. In comparison, he had scored over 350 runs in the 3-match ODI series against the same opponents.