Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh believes excess cricket is the reason behind Shubman Gill’s recent poor form with the bat. However, Gill scored only 10 runs off 32 deliveries in India’s Asia Cup 2023 Group A clash against Pakistan in Pallekele on Saturday, September 2. His dismissal witnessed the team struggling at 66/4 in the 15th over before Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya’s 138-run fifth-wicket partnership took them to a 266-run total as well. Notably, the match ended in a no result due to rain.
During an interaction on India Today, Harbhajan said: “I think it is a bit too much cricket. He has been playing for quite a while now. He had a great IPL and after the IPL every player needs some sort of rest because the IPL is a very demanding tournament. You have got to travel and also play every second or fourth day. I feel he just needs a bit of a break. He is a quality player. There is no doubt that he will come back into form and start scoring those runs, what we have seen him scoring in the IPL.”
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However, Shubman Gill was the Orange Cap winner in IPL 2023, smashing 890 runs which came at an average of 59.33 in 17 games. The youngster has played in every Indian XI since then barring the two T20Is they played against Ireland and has looked out of sorts as well. Harbhajan Singh also said that he doesn’t see a technical deficiency in Shubman Gill’s game.
He shared: “I believe there is nothing wrong with his technique. There is nothing wrong with his kind of batting what he is doing. It’s just that the confidence is a bit lost. I am sure if he gives himself a bit more time, he is going to come good.”
Meanwhile, Harbhajan Singh wants India to take their match against Nepal as a practice match and iron out the deficiencies in their game for the tougher battles in future as well. However, they will play their second Group A game in Pallekele on Monday, September 4 against Nepal. And, they will secure a place in the Super Four stage if they avoid a defeat against them.
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“There is no need to panic. I don’t think India will change anyone from the XI they played against Pakistan. I think the same team will play against Nepal. Take this opportunity to spend time in the middle as a batter or bowler. Try to rectify all the things you want to do against big teams like Pakistan and Sri Lanka. That’s what these games are for. There is nothing better than practicing in the middle. Take this game as practice. Play the way you want to play. Take a little bit more time to get into the groove and things will start getting better for you.”
“I think India need to just play like Team India. They have brilliant players, unbelievable talent. I think the more they stay on the wicket, the more runs they are going to score. Of course, they didn’t get to bowl. Even though we are talking 20-30 runs short, I believe 266 was quite a challenging total on this wicket,” Harbhajan Singh concluded. “Bumrah could have done well on this wicket. The ball would have swung under the lights. I believe playing against Nepal will give them the opportunity to do better than what they did against Pakistan and come back better in the next game against Pakistan.”
