With failures in just 3 T20I matches, there was plenty of criticism and a huge amount of trolling directed toward young India opener Shubman Gill.
In the first 3 T20Is against the West Indies, he managed scores of 3,7 and 6, and the trollers jumped up with the ‘Ahmedabad pitch’ digs, opining that Gill struggles on pitches that are not as batting-friendly as that in Ahmedabad where he’s ransacked big runs this year for India and in the IPL 2023.
While it’s one thing for the fans to troll a player, it’s another for a renowned commentator to make such a critical, trolling remark while doing commentary.
In the 4th T20I, in Florida, when India were bowling first, the camera panned toward Shubman Gill, who was fielding the boundary line. Speaking in the commentary, Aakash Chopra made a snarky remark, saying that the West Indies team doesn’t have Alzarri Joseph today and also the pitch was looking flat like it is in Ahmedabad, So, Aakash Chopra wondered, whether Shubman Gill will score runs today on this “Ahmedabad-like” pitch.
Watch: Aakash Chopra’s subtle dig at Shubman Gill with ‘Ahmedabad-like’ pitch remark
https://twitter.com/akkumedia56/status/1690451093891751936?s=20
This taunt from Aakash Chopra was heard by the fans on and he got hit back by some when Shubman Gill smashed a match-winning half-century in the same match.
Gill answered back his critics with his bat. The 23-year-old bounced played a match-winning half-century innings of 77 runs in 47 balls with the help of 3 fours and 5 sixes in the 4th T20I, helping India chase down the target of 179 with ease along with Yashasvi Jaiswal’s stunning assault of 84*(51) and level the series.
After the match, Shubman Gill spoke of his failures earlier in the series and said that he wasn’t really making much mistake.
“It’s important to go to your basics. You have to identify whether you are making any mistake. I felt I wasn’t making a mistake in any of the three matches. But I couldn’t convert my starts,” the right-handed opener said in a video for the BCCI.
“T20 format is like that. When you have 3-4 matches where a good shot is caught by the fielder, and you have to eye at making quick runs, you don’t have time to think much. You just look at what your template was when you were consistently scoring runs.”
The series now has been pushed into a decider with India levelling it from 2-0 to 2-2. The decider will be also played in Florida on Sunday.
