IND vs ENG | Gill will learn with time, needs to be encouraged to play attacking cricket, claims Gautam Gambhir
Gill perished after a well-made 29
|Gautam Gambhir defended Shubman Gill after the youngster was dismissed playing a rash shot on Day 3, and claimed that the 21-year-old will learn and mature as he plays more matches. Gambhir reckoned Gill looked ‘unbelievable’ in his short stay and hoped for the management to back the youngster.
The Indian openers walked out to bat after spending 190 long overs on the field but any apprehensions about mental fatigue were instantaneously squashed by young Shubman Gill. On just the seventh ball he faced, the right-hander played a thumping pull off the bowling of Jofra Archer and by the time he faced his 20th ball, he’d already struck four boundaries. Gill looked a class above the rest and further asserted his dominance on the very first ball of the 10th over, dispatching an overpitched Archer delivery via a wristy flick.
However, against the run of play, tragedy struck the very next ball as Gill perished attempting an extravagant straight drive. The bowler, Archer, pitched the ball up once again and Gill, aiming to drive, ended up scooping the ball straight to Jimmy Anderson at mid-on.
The youngster has since come under criticism for his impatience and shot selection, but one person who believes Gill should not be chastised is Gautam Gambhir. Reviewing the morning session on ESPN Cricinfo, Gambhir spoke highly of Gill’s short stay at the middle and felt the 21-year-old was unlucky to get out the way he did. Gambhir reckoned Gill will learn and mature with time and said that, given the form he was in, the right-hander’s dismissal was ‘understandable’.
“I think he looked unbelievable. When you’re playing that kind of an innings, you just want to continue doing that - because you’re in that kind of a rhythm as well. When you’re on a run-ball 27 or 28, hitting Jofra Archer through mid-wicket and your confidence is sky-high after a successful tour of Australia, it’s difficult to stop,” Gambhir said on ESPN Cricinfo.
“You’ve got to give it to the young boy. He’s only going to learn with experience. What we saw from Shubman Gill - the entire country should be excited about it. He’s only going to learn with time. You can’t expect someone playing their 3rd or 4th Test match to not play that shot.”
Gill finished his innings with a strike rate of 103.57 and in his young career has shown that he is someone who loves to take the attack to the position. On the back of his dismissal today, there have been calls for the youngster to tone down his aggression but Gambhir is against that idea. The former Indian opener feels Gill needs to be encouraged to play with aggression and believes such an approach will help the right-hander rack up tons of runs in international cricket.
“Yes, he played a touch little early but then again very good catch. I would not think too much about it. I would still want Shubman Gill to play the way he did. Ultimately if he keeps playing this way, he is going to get many more runs. So nothing to think about.”
