○Ever since getting over the debris of early doubts, Shubman Gill’s innings against England has been as fresh as a daffodil-studded spring bouquet. But when he turned 100, he was in no mood to give a Yashasvi Jaiswar-style two-handed salute to the crowd. The quiet sound of the bat swinging and the sigh of relief that puffed up his cheeks were all he wanted to give.
Gill was lucky to survive the early onslaught from England’s bowlers on a cool morning in Visakhapatnam. Jimmy Anderson picked the top of Rohit Sharma’s stumps in the first over and removed Jaiswal in the next over, but Gill looked as if he would inevitably follow and someone picked a bramble with a bread stick. He moved around as if to repel the enemy.
Sure enough, he was given LBW by Tom Hartley on four, but was given a reprieve after being directed by Shreyas Iyer to review and finding that the third base umpire had smelled the edge of the bat on his pads. Ta. He had a big smile under his helmet. One over later, another lucky break sent a treble into the front pad after England confirmed Anderson’s not-out LBW scream. Verdict: Judgment of the referee. A few more balls edged close to slip. Joe Root hit the top of his right pinky finger while trying to reach for it, something India may still be grateful for.
However, Gill slowly recovered and was now batting with a cap, knocking out the England spinners in singles along with Iyer without much worry. He capitalized when they were wrong, cutting Rehan Ahmed into the ropes twice, brushing off Hartley’s full toss with a spoonful of calm, and two more in a row from Ahmed before lunch. Reached 50 points between the boundary line, ground and cover.
Walking slowly towards the three figures, it came to life when he attacked Ahmed again and dismissed him for three consecutive boundaries. Six hits down the pitch, four sweeps that almost knocked out the ball girl, and a drive that lifted his back foot to his height. When the 100 pitch came, it was almost like a climax, as was the reverse sweep that put him out a few pitches later.
Tendulkar’s mantle is heavy. Clamp by dragging as much as lifting. Virat Kohli has learned to live with it. Gill scored 351 in an U-16 match, made his debut in the Vijay Merchant Trophy with two centuries, and was named Man of the Series for India U-19 against England. He handed me the chain. The 18-year-old’s IPL debut of $230,000 (USD) by his team, Kolkata Knight Riders, was tough to bear the weight of expectations.
Gill’s Test debut came during the thrilling Covid 2020-21 series against Australia, when Virat Kohli returned home on paternity leave. After India were eliminated for 36 runs in the second innings of the first Test, he regained his pride with a stylish 45 at the top of the order, had a brilliant run throughout the series, and polished off his performance brilliantly in the fourth and final Test. Ta. There, he scored a spine-chilling 91 in the second innings, limiting Mitchell Starc to six runs and helping India, along with Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant, chase 328 with 19 balls remaining in the match. India won the series and retained the Bradman-Gavaskar trophy after suffering a Test down. It was Australia’s first defeat at the Gabba in 32 years.
The whole of India was crazy about Gill. Novelist Mukul Kesavan described him as, “A young Cary Grant opening for India is an incredible sight.” Australian author Gideon Hague called him a “once-in-a-generation player”.
After newsletter promotion
But there was a hole waiting for him. Injuries, loss of health and confidence. Despite his white-ball success – he became the youngest player to score a double century in ODIs and hit back-to-back hundreds in the IPL – he was adamant that the runs would not flow as fast as his talent suggested in Tests. What did you refuse?
After scoring 128 against Australia in Ahmedabad in March last year, he continued to score poorly with only three 25 overs and none of 40 overs in 12 innings. His position is not guaranteed and people are thinking about young players as the Indian selectors have brought in young players due to the temporary absence of Virat Kohli (personal reasons) and KL Rahul (hamstring) against England. I wondered who would secure that position.
Gill will be out for the rest of the series, taking India back to parity with Jasprit Bumrah and Jaiswal, unless Stokes’ England pull off the unthinkable again. A spoonful of self-confidence medicine can go a long way in easing the burden.
