Former Indian opener, Aakash Chopra said Shubman Gill’s unimpressive numbers in T20I cricket are a problem but highlighted that it was not fair to point fingers at the youngster for getting out early in the 2nd T20I of the ongoing 3-match series against New Zealand on Sunday, January 29. Gill was dismissed for 11 off 9 balls on a tricky pitch in Lucknow as India huffed and puffed to a target of 100 in the final over of the thrilling chase.
It was the second successive time Shubman Gill was dismissed by a spinner in the T20I series against New Zealand. On both occasions, Gill tried to punch the spinner from the backfoot and got a leading edge to be caught inside the 30-yard circle. In the first T20I, Gill got out to left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner, who took the ball away from the left-hander.
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Talking about Gill in the latest video on his Youtube channel, Aakash Chopra said, “It was not a straightforward run chase. I think Mitchell Santner’s captaincy was very good, he rotated his bowlers well, got Glenn Phillips and Chapman also to bowl. It was an almost identical dismissal for Shubman Gill.” Gill was dismissed off Santner’s bowling in the first match and here, Michael Bracewell.
He further added, He is trying to play the pull shot but getting the leading edge, it happened both times. Happens on a turning surface. You can’t be too critical but numbers are not stacking up nicely for him, that’s a problem. Ishan Kishan was looking decent and he got run out. Rahul Tripathi also swung his bat but how many runs will you score here? Suryakumar Yadav, who is in amazing form, was also seen struggling.”
Ishan Kishan also struggled to get going but the left-hander hung in, managing 19 from 32 deliveries. Suryakumar Yadav’s unbeaten 26 and Hardik Pandya’s unbeaten 15 helped India get to the 100-run target with a ball and 6 wickets to spare.
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Both Kishan and Gill are facing pressure as highly-rated Prithvi Shaw, who has made a comeback to the T20I squad following consistent domestic performances, is waiting in the wings. It remains to be seen if Hardik and coach Rahul Dravid will give the Mumbai batter a go in the final T20I, scheduled to get underway in Ahmedabad on February 1.
