There’s no denying the fact that Shubman Gill is one of the most promising young cricketers of India at the moment. His blockbuster performance of 91 runs at the Gabba announced his arrival on to the international arena in style. However, ever since then, the young Indian opener has been able to give the best of his abilities.
Shubman has managed to average only 19.83 against England in the Test series at home and has been struggling to score big against New Zealand in the ongoing World Test Championship. Shubman was dismissed for just eight runs in the second innings of the ongoing WTC Final by Tim Southee. His form has become one of the most talked-about topics among the cricket fraternity lately.
Recently, former Indian cricketer, Sanjay Manjrekar talked about Shubman Gill’s performance and explained why he has been struggling. Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Manjrekar believes Shubman Gill will have to work on his footwork to become successful in the England conditions.
“Shubman Gill will have to work on his footwork. He is getting out to ball that leaves him and the ball coming back in- that is a problem. It’s always on the front foot. Right through this Test match, not once have i seen him go back. So he is really focused on making sure he doesn’t get out to the ball that is pitched up. There is a lot of talk of his front pad not going far enough and getting caught on the crease. Again he got caught up in making sure that his front pad is across and worried about the outswinger.”
Furthermore, Manjrekar raised questions about Gill’s tendency to always plant his front foot forward. He said:
“He left some balls beautifully. But the ball coming back in surprised him. I’m a little sceptical whether that is the right way to go about, to be on the front foot all the time.”
Meanwhile, team India is currently leading the game by 32 runs with Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara at the crease. It will be interesting to see the result of the WTC Final, which is evenly poised at the moment.
