Shubman Gill throws his hand at a delivery pitched outside off and then skips down the ground. That’s the summary of the Indian vice-captain’s stay in the middle in Cuttack. Straight off rehabilitation from an unfortunate neck injury, Gill didn’t wish to play a couple of balls to get into rhythm.
What’s going on with Shubman Gill in T20Is?
Instead, he walked back to the pavillion after facing just 2 balls. It was unlike the Gill we’ve grown accustomed to. The opener who racks up big runs for the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League at a healthy clip. In the last 3 seasons of the league, Gill averages 55 while striking at 156.98.
These are elite numbers for a batter labelled as an ‘anchor’. Yet, whenever Gill has turned up for India in the last 18 months, we haven’t seen this version of him. His shot selection in the India vs South Africa 1st T20I was rather perplexing. Aakash Chopra has a theory as to why Gill played the way he did in Cuttack.
“What is Shubman Gill trying to do? I ask this question because it seems like he doesn’t play like this, but is trying to play like that. Why would he be doing that? It seems like he is too hasty to hit. The way he got out in Cuttack, he hit a four off the first ball, and then he jumped out and hit the next ball,” Aakash said on his YouTube channel.
The Sanju Samson threat
One can’t forget that Gill wasn’t playing T20Is from July 2024 to August 2024 for India. During this period, Sanju Samson was thrashing bowlers and smashing records. Yet, Gill was brought back for the 2025 Asia Cup. Not only was Samson removed as opener, but Gill was named deputy to Suryakumar Yadav as well.
Aakash thinks this situation has affected not just Samson but also Gill. With Samson performing at a striking rate over 180 and hitting 3 hundreds before being removed, expectations were set high. Now, since Gill has replaced him, he faces the pressure to match those achievements. So far, Gill hasn’t scored a fifty since his return and hasn’t reached a strike rate of 140.
“What could be the reasons behind that? He is feeling slightly obliged. Sanju Samson was the player who was opening before him. He used to score runs at a strike rate of 175. He scored three centuries as well. Of course, he got out early as well, but has three centuries to his name and a strike rate of 175. You can’t take that away from Samson. India was also running close to 250-275. He is feeling the pressure of two things. Firstly, because Samson plays like that, he too should play like that because he has come in his place, and that is always spoken about,” he said.
One has to remember that Gill wasn’t dropped but rested so that he can prioritise Test cricket. It wasn’t his fault. But social media only sees scores. They don’t care what happened before; you get results, and you get praise. You don’t; you get abused. There isn’t any nuance. It’s all black or white.
“Social media must be on fire today as well, although you have to cut him some slack because he was playing his first competitive game since the neck sprain he had at the Eden Gardens. So you can be slightly undercooked. However, social media won’t agree with that,” Chopra observed.
Shubman Gill vs Sanju Samson: T20I stats comparison as opener (from July 1, 2024 onwards)
| Batter | Matches | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shubman Gill | 20 | 506 | 66 | 31.62 | 136.38 | 0 | 2 |
| Sanju Samson | 13 | 417 | 111 | 34.75 | 182.89 | 3 | 0 |
