Shubman Gill – a precocious talent in pursuit of the definitive 100


Shubman Gill – a precocious talent in pursuit of the definitive 100

Nearly four years have passed since but the memory of a young, lanky right handed Indian batter short arm jabbing a good length ball above the midwicket boundary onto the grass banks of the Bay Oval ground in Mount Manganui, quite akin to his nation’s ODI captain, remains fresh as a daisy in the mind’s eye. It was billed as the U-19 World Cup of Prithvi Shaw, and with that shot Shubman Gill announced his show stealing grand arrival.  

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After briefly pausing to appreciate his own doing, with red handkerchief tucked towards his right hip and a red wrist band on the left arm, both carefully placed for good luck, Gill proceeded with a slight bend of the right shoulder – akin to, yet not as pronounced as, famous Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan – to walk towards his partner and raise his bat in acknowledgement of the cheers for his half century. It was all very idiosyncratic – a sight we are now quite familiar with. Especially that non chalant gait following an extraordinary shot that leaves jaws gaping wide open.

Gill made an unbeaten 90 in that game against Zimbabwe, as India hared down their target of 155 in less than 22 overs without losing a single wicket. Wicketkeeper Harvik Desai was at the other end as India rested the usual opening pair of skipper Shaw and Manjot Kalra. Desai himself scored a half century but that game was all about Shubman Gill, who scored at double the strike rate of his partner. Perhaps a precursor of what was to come – when on display, very little else glitters brighter.

Shubman Gill – precocious and precious

Gill was a majestic statesman throughout that U-19 World Cup, soaring above competition and compare. In fact, that short arm jab – a shot compared to one played Virat Kohli against England in Pune exactly one year and four days earlier – was representative of Gill in that tournament. A man who showcased every detail required to make the transition from junior to senior cricket. In fact, he did very literally look like a man amongst boys. At least with willow in hand.

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When he took his helmet off though, one could see the face of a boy yet to graduate the second stage of life as laid out by Shakespeare. There was no whining though, neither the unwillingness to show up for work. Contrarily, his presence at the cease would make the opposition whine by the passing minute and his ease of scoring would result in bowlers unwillingly creeping to the wicket.

And the most memorable of the multiple times Gill took his helmet off was in the semi final victory against Pakistan. Only two days ahead of the game, the IPL mega auction took place and word had already spread that the batch of U-19 boys in New Zealand was pretty special. And as is wont with IPL auctions, plenty of them watched on in a strange hour to earn money they would know not immediately how many zeroes it comprised.

Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill raises his bat during the ICC U19 World Cup 2018

Gill was one of them, acquired by Kolkata Knight Riders for upwards of one crore rupees. But if one looked at him bat, all of 18 years old and watching eight wickets fall from the other end in a World Cup semi final against his team’s biggest traditional rivals, one would have imagined the teenager did not get the memo that he had already earned more money than any of his ancestors did in their lifetimes.

That unbeaten century was proof that Gill had the head of a man upon those fledgling shoulders. One could see that a precious talent was unearthing himself with the grit, character and temperament of a seasoned professional. There really would be no other word that would describe Gill better than precocious – a boy with skills unbecoming of his age.

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Shubman Gill – promise against the world’s best

Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill held his own against the best bowlers in Australia

And Gill carried that form into domestic cricket, averaging upwards of hundred during justifiably selected periods. Gill quickly became a fixture in India’s reserve teams across formats on the ‘A’ tours. Here too Gill was scoring runs as though Captain America talking about morality. It was just that easy.

There would be times when Gill and his opening partner, Ruturaj Gaikwad, considered their respective selves as their only competition. Both players were scoring freely and in bulk. Gill, with his elegance, was not only hitting the bowlers out of the park but their confidence too. He is the sort of batsman who can knock the morale out of oppositions very quickly. It is one of those things with those who look lazy in their stroke play thus making what is necessarily a tough job look easy.

All this good work naturally resulted in Gill’s senior call up. He suffered some initial hiccups before being presented with a proper run in Australia, against Australia. And against what was popularly believed to be the best bowling quartet in the world, Gill gave a magnificent account of himself. He contributed with 45 followed by an unbeaten 35* on debut in a winning cause at Melbourne before scoring two half centuries in the following two Test matches.

Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill pulling Mitchell Starc at Gabba was a sight for the ages

His 91 at Gabba, in a winning cause was a stand out. Gill braved one of the most fiery spells of fast bowling on the fifth morning after losing Rohit Sharma the previous day. He would then go on to launch a gutsy counter attack, upper cutting and pulling Mitchell Starc on either end of the ground. There was one particular shot which underlined the man’s capability – a flat bat pull shot over square leg for six on one of the fastest wickets against the premier left arm pacer of our time.

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India would go on to win the game and Gill, having missed a well deserved century, would fade in limelight to Rishabh Pant’s unbeaten 89. The right hander has since scored two more half centuries, against England and New Zealand at home, after a very promising outing at the World Test Championship final.

Shubman Gill – the wait to come of age

Shubman Gill injury replacement
Gill needs to convert his starts into big scores

Shubman Gill was also crucial in the Mumbai Test win against New Zealand, falling agonisingly close to deserved half centuries in both innings. And perhaps therein now lies his issue. The failure to yet notch up an international century for a player of such promise is slightly befuddling. Especially when one sees his scores in international cricket.

Gill has played 19 Test match innings and out of them, he has been dismissed with scores of single digit on five occasions. As an opener, or a batter in any position, one is always vulnerable while new to the wicket and in the cricketing circuit, it is not considered a failure unless the batter has thrown away the wicket due to a poor stroke.

Of the remaining 14 innings, Gill has faced more than thirty deliveries on eleven occasions. One would reckon, playing thirty balls – which will translate roughly to an hour of facing the new ball – gives the batter enough time to get a feel of the wicket and, in cricketing terms, be considered a ‘set batter’. 

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In ten of the aforementioned eleven occasions – barring the one innings he has been not out – Gill has converted four starts into half centuries and thrice been dismissed in the fourties. This shows that the batter, on most occasions, does the hard part very well. He sees off the new ball, mostly shows attacking intent, and just when the time comes for him to cash in, gets dismissed.

There is, of course, a little bit of temperament that comes into the discussion. And that is a very natural complementary offering in the game’s toughest format. By all means, scoring a Test hundred is the most difficult task for a batter. Unless one is Virender Sehwag, it usually means that the player has to be near chanceless for the better part of two sessions, if not three.

This includes two long breaks, apart from the mandatory drinks break in each session. The opposition is a challenge but more so is one’s own mind. One thing Test cricket affords is time, to everyone. It is far removed from the momentum of T20 cricket and its now extension in the way it has been approached, ODIs.

Test cricket almost affords too much time and therein, if one’s concentration is not at its peak, chances are a dismissal is around the corner. As one approaches a milestone, the nature of the game wherein the field is more appropriate for saving a single than protecting boundaries makes batters wait that little bit longer. With every passing ball, burdened by the impending wait of a landmark, anxiety builds.

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Best WTC innings Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill’s audacious 91 gives him a spot on the best WTC innings list

And that is exactly what has been happening to Gill. In his two dismissals against New Zealand in Mohali, he played strokes wherein he was forcing the ball rather than his usual style of letting the ball arrive at him. Even when he scored 91 at Gabba, he fell to Nathan Lyon playing uncharacteristically away to a bowler he was toying with by stepping down the wicket.

Therein lies the biggest test for Gill. There are technical fallacies and he is slowly ironing them out. While doing so, he will know like any of those who preceded him and those who shall follow, there is no perfect batter or technique.

And mindful of imperfections, Gill – once precocious and now strangely bordering lackadaisical – will seek to come of age before the word finally gets attached to the phrase. He perhaps needs to go on a path of self discovery – perceiving himself and his mind, knowing how to calm it and gain control over it in difficult situations. And he has time on his side as he navigates through his international career.

Still only 22, the horizon for Gill is as far as he can imagine it to be. Because with people like Gill, the quill of destiny rests at his mercy, messy verse or quixotic calligraphy – take your pick.

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