Veteran India wicketkeeper batter Dinesh Karthik analysed what is pulling Shubman Gill down in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. Shubman has failed to make an impact with the bat in the series and has scored 31, 28 and 1 in the three innings he batted. The talented batter failed to convert the starts in Adelaide to a big score, while he threw his wicket away in Brisbane after poking a ball which was way outside off-stump to get caught at the gully.
Shubman, who is touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket, has failed to live up to expectations in red-ball cricket so far, especially outside Asia. The last time he scored a fifty in a Test outside Asia was in 2021 against Australia at the Gabba, Brisbane.
Karthik asserted that Gill has a slight flaw in his batting technique, which has impacted his performance in overseas Tests.
“I think Shubman Gill definitely (has) got a slight technical error, which is pushing at the ball,” Karthik said while talking on Cricbuzz.
The veteran wicketkeeper batter analysed that Gill tends to apply the same white-ball approach in Test cricket, which is also the case with Travis Head, but he said that the Aussie star has found a method to doing that.
“When you play a lot of white-ball cricket, you tend to do that (push at the ball). Even Travis Head does that, but what he has found is a method of doing that, and I think that players like Shubman Gill are caught in the trap of the way they bat in India and the way they bat outside,” Karthik added.
Karthik pointed out the mistakes the batters commit while travelling to countries like Australia, England and South Africa.
“The moment you see the ball released from the bowler, your mind tells you that this is a full ball you need to go at it. Batsmen who travel abroad to places like Australia, England and South Africa tune themselves in practice when they see a fuller ball like that, especially against a new ball – A) they play with slightly soft hands, or B) they try and focus on playing the ball as close to the body or leave,” he added.
Meanwhile, Karthik didn’t mince his words while criticising Shubman’s poor show while batting at a crucial number 3 position in Test cricket.
“For a No. 3 batsman who has been around for so long, Shubman Gill has played very ordinary shots; there are no mincing words there. And let’s be honest here, that the Indian batting, as a group, has not fired here for some time now, and with every passing innings, they are putting pressure on themselves,” the former stumper said.
‘Shubman Gill is playing like he would play in India’
Shubman has scored 459 runs outside Asia in his Test career so far at an average of under 30, which is a concerning sign for team management, which has identified him as a long-term replacement for Cheteshwar Pujara.
Karthik advised Shubman to change his mindset and technique while playing red-ball cricket in a country like Australia where conditions are completely opposite to what there is in India.
“Shubman Gill is playing like he would play in India, where he sees the release and goes for the ball with hard hands. In Australia, sometimes in places like the Gabba, playing square of the wickets is much easier than in front. So at the start of the innings, you have to tell yourself that ‘I have to leave’,” he explained.
