IPL 2021 – Shubman Gill: a misfit, who needs to refine his range and approach

Shubman Gill’s painstaking knock of 11 from 19 balls and the desperate run-out that ended it on Saturday (April 24) only summed up his misery as a top-order batsman for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Gill’s vigil at the crease did little to give KKR any momentum at the start of their innings against Rajasthan Royals […]
 
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IPL 2021 – Shubman Gill: a misfit, who needs to refine his range and approach

Shubman Gill’s painstaking knock of 11 from 19 balls and the desperate run-out that ended it on Saturday (April 24) only summed up his misery as a top-order batsman for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

Gill’s vigil at the crease did little to give KKR any momentum at the start of their innings against Rajasthan Royals (RR). At a high-scoring venue like Mumbai, these are knocks slotted into the ‘match-losing’ effort category.

The innings, sadly, reinforced why Shubman Gill is a misfit in this KKR batting unit and the overall set up.

KKR, the two-time champions, have been a team looking to make up for some of the bowling issues with batting depth for a while in IPL cricket.

Since the start of IPL 2018, KKR have had one of the worst bowling units, conceding 8.84 runs per over, but they’ve also been one of the better performing batting line-ups and have averaged 25.26 per wicket while maintaining a collective strike-rate of 137.96.

IPL 2021 – Shubman Gill: a misfit, who needs to refine his range and approach

The strategy hasn’t always worked, which perhaps explains KKR’s trophy drought since 2014. But in the prevailing circumstances and their existing balance, KKR lose out on a lot of crucial runs the longer Shubman Gill stays at the crease, as he has a career IPL strike-rate of only 124.87 over 46 matches. Gill’s strike-rate of 117.96 was the worst among all openers in IPL 2020 played in UAE last winter.

It can be argued that Shubman Gill is uniquely placed in the role of an ‘anchor’ in an otherwise explosive KKR batting unit, something he also talked about ahead of IPL 2021.

“I think strike-rate is kind of overrated,” Gill told PTI in an interview. “It’s all about how you adapt to a certain situation. If the team demands you to play with a strike rate of 200 you should be able to do it. If the team demands you to play at a strike rate of 100, you should be able to do it. It’s just about adapting to the match situation.”

“There shouldn’t be a certain pattern to your game where you are only able to play one kind of game and not being able to adapt to different situations,” he added.

IPL 2021 – Shubman Gill: a misfit, who needs to refine his range and approach

Shubman Gill: a misfit, who needs to refine his range and approach

Leave aside the debate on how ‘overrated’ strike-rate really is, what Shubman Gill actually wanted to say is that he prioritises the team situation within his head rather than looking for a set rhythm to his batting.

But, even if one finds merit to his statement and sees it the way he does, it doesn’t seem Shubman Gill is playing the situations all that correctly, which is why innings like the ones against RR are infuriating for a lot of the KKR fanbase.

Gill couldn’t have played at the tempo he did in the powerplay at the Wankhede Stadium of all venues and especially not when his team is stronger on the batting front than bowling, and need that much more cover in terms of the score they get.

What only makes Shubman Gill’s innings and approach that much more frustrating is the fact that it’s not borne out of any lack of ability or shortage of a competent technique against pace and spin.

It’s been visible through the quality of his strokeplay when he plays for India in Test cricket why Shubman Gill is one of the most prodigious batting talents that the country has produced in the last 4-5 years.

Gill looks destined to be Indian batting’s next big name in Tests and ODIs. But he needs to upskill his batting and range in T20 cricket, where he can’t take too much time before settling in and getting going.

Gill can perhaps take inspiration from the journey of Virat Kohli who, self-admittedly, didn’t initially have the game to clear the boundary ropes consistently in T20 cricket. But instead of trying to become a power-hitter, Kohli worked on increasing his boundary options and kept the focus on timing the ball rather than belting it.

Kohli, like Gill must also not, didn’t compromise on the potency of his basic game. The Indian skipper enhanced his range across the playing arena against different bowlers, which eventually led to an improved strike-rate. Kohli remained an ‘anchor’ but someone who did the role at a much greater tempo. Shubman Gill would do well to follow suit.