Bharath Ramaraj in Dubai
In sport, how do you regain form? Unfortunately, there is no mathematical equation that could help an athlete find his/her rhythm again. It could be just a small change in grip or stride that is bothering a sportsperson. And in a matter of minutes, the athlete might feel like they are somewhere back to their best. For a tennis player, a crosscourt backhand winner with heavy topspin could provide the much-needed boost. And for a cricketer, it could be either a wicket or the sweet sound of the willow against the leather.
Shubman Gill is one of those batters who is currently in the middle of a poor patch. He hasn’t crossed the 20-run mark in the three games he has played in the Asia Cup so far. With Gill picked ahead of the aggressive opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, there is even more scrutiny on the Indian vice-captain to prove his credentials in the shortest format.
It is also true that Gill is now a senior member of the side. As you get older, you end up with more responsibilities. The bowlers too would have pored through your weaknesses. Simply put, a few more seeds of doubt could clog up your mind.
Ahead of India’s Asia Cup game against Pakistan, he was one of the only three players who attended an optional training session. Abhishek Sharma and Varun Chakaravarthy were the other two who made it to the ICC Academy grounds. Among the lot, most of the eyes were zoomed in on the out-of-form Gill.
The India opener took on a string of net bowlers – Left-arm pace, right-arm pace and left-arm spin, alongside Varun. It was quite evident that Gill was aiming to perfect the shape on his shots with a still head while hitting through the midwicket region and straight down the ground. The bowlers, be it spinners or pacers, were zeroing in on the stumps.
Some of Gill’s lofted shots were pristine to watch. Having said that, he didn’t seem to be pleased with his bat-swing. Probably he felt that the bat-swing was undercutting a bit. Here, we are thinking of a batter tending to drag the ball a little more towards the on-side. After his batting net, he also had a 30-45-minute chat with Sitanshu Kotak, the batting coach.
Meanwhile, with Abhishek also wielding his willow in an adjacent net, those few journalists overseeing the action had to keep their eyes on the trajectory of the ball like hawks. The left-hand batter was at his carefree best. A few misses didn’t seem to bother him one bit as he went about his job of clearing the boundary hoardings in the ‘V’.
Varun, the third member of the Indian squad to take part in the training session, was seen employing both types of leg-breaks – The conventional and the unconventional one. He also perhaps ushered in a few googlies. In between, he was intent on bowling from round the wicket. Afterwards, Varun bowled diligently to both Abhishek and Gill.
Who knows, the Abhishek-Gill pair might yet share a stand of substance against Pakistan and bring back evocative memories from their junior days. For now, though, Gill’s batting is akin to a fine pianist whose rhythmic tunes are coming out rather erratically.
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