Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer has asked young star Shubman Gill to adapt better to different surfaces while analysing his poor form during the tour of the West Indies. After a sensational start to the year, with four centuries and a double century in ten innings until the final Test against Australia, Gill has struggled for form except for the IPL as well. Despite a quiet three-match ODI series against Australia that followed the Tests, he smashed in the IPL, finishing as the tournament’s leading run-scorer with 890 runs for the Gujarat Titans (GT) as well. But, then he crossed 50 only once in his last 11 international innings.
Speaking on ESPN Cricinfo, Jaffer said: “These West Indies surfaces are like that, you have to wait for it and can’t just keep hitting on the rise which Shubman likes. But one thing he needs to understand is he is not going to get conditions like Ahmedabad everywhere. So the better he gets used to the other surfaces and adapts to the surfaces it’s going to do him wonders.”
Meanwhile, Shubman Gill has scored 698 runs in the ten innings at a stunning average of 87.25 and a strike rate of 177.15. However, the average drops to a staggering 27.33 at a strike rate of 127.72 outside the venue as well. And, Wasim Jaffer added that Shubman Gill needs time to get into the groove, leading to his reaching out to the ball on slower and lower pitches as well.
READ MORE: Harbhajan Singh says Australia have the upperhand in the WTC final
Wasim Jaffer said: “Shubman is not somebody who goes from ball one. He is not that kind of a player so he takes his time at the start. He has a habit of reaching towards the ball when the ball is not coming on. We have spoken about how important it is for the openers to get off to a good start in the powerplay and give players like Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma a good platform. But they won’t be worried about it as they will know they need to show intent straightaway. Jaiswal will bat with aggressive intent and I feel Shubman Gill is being a bit too defensive. If he gets 2-3 good shots straightaway then that could make a huge difference.”
Wasim Jaffer also added that Team India might not need an extra seamer if Hardik Pandya bowls four overs.
READ MORE: Sanjay Manjrekar dissects Virat Kohli’s poor show in WTC Final
He added: “It will be tempting to add an extra batter because Hardik Pandya has been bowling his four overs. The way Axar has been used and with Tilak as an option too, why not play an extra batter? Two wrist-spinners should definitely play, but a pacer can be replaced. Will Hardik Pandya be able to bowl at the death? That’s something only he can answer. There needs to be a bit of homework done. This is a high-scoring ground and execution needs to be spot-on. It seems like Arshdeep is trying too many things but he is not being able to execute it. So even if he can stop 2-3 boundaries at crucial stages, it could prove to make a massive difference in the game. So he will need to execute well.”
