Shubman Gill

Twice in the South Africa ODI series, the young India opener has paid for it against Kagiso Rabada. It will be fascinating to see how he tackles this ...

The main focus is on staying still so he doesn’t like to upset that balance by leaning onto his front foot, and he trusts his hands to do the jail-break for him. “As a player you should know what things you need to work on, and where the opposition is looking to get you out. It might not pose any problem if pitches are belters and he sees off the new ball, but it’s an issue that does hang around him. If you are positioned well in relation to the ball, you will manage…” And he tries to manage by letting his hands go through or punch the ball. Gill has certainly shortened his back-and-across movement but perhaps the next step would be to restrict the depth of that movement: shorter and quicker as this can still give the springboard to push forward quickly. As of now, the quick pacers who tail the ball in challenge him because of the slowness of his movement. Like your shoulder should be aligned towards the ball, you should be a little side-on while playing, you should be in a good position even if your feet are not moving that well. At the top level one needs to be strong on the back foot but still have the balance and skill to play under the eyes, and be in a position to transfer the weight forward. Isn’t it better to manage this with the hands? If you are positioned well in relation to the ball, you will manage… There seems to be a reluctance in him or rather a decision arrived at after considerable thought that the status quo is better. The key is to draw him forward as he likes to sit back on the back foot.