Parthiv Patel urges Shubman Gill to back natural style after T20I series against Australia

Former Indian wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel has urged Shubman Gill to back his natural style after the T20I series against Australia. Gill scored 132 runs in five matches at an average of 44 and a strike rate of 136.08 against Australia, with two unbeaten knocks of 37 and 29.

The Indian opener had only managed 43 runs in three ODIs against Australia. Furthermore, the right-hander had scored only 127 runs in seven matches of the Asia Cup and he hasn’t yet nailed his opening spot in T20Is.

Gill had scored 20-ball 37 against Australia in the opening T20I at Canberra before rain played killjoy. While Gill’s opening partner Abhishek Sharma has been going all guns blazing, it would be interesting to note the Indian vice-captain’s approach going forward.

“Absolutely, that factor will be there, I do not doubt that. If all players play similarly, an odd day might come when they get out for 120 or 130, and that can happen as well. However, you want to display your best game, and that’s what is important for Shubman Gill,” the Gujarat Titans (GT) assistant coach said on Star Sports.

“He should only play the way he can. It’s not like everyone can consistently bat at a strike rate of over 200. Even if he is batting at a strike rate of 180, it’s an excellent strike rate. You should do the job where you can get your best result. Shubman Gill knows very well what his batting tempo is and he is batting like that,” he added.

Meanwhile, Gill scored an aggressive knock of 29 runs off 16 balls in the fifth T20I whereas he scored 46 runs off 39 balls in the fourth game.

“I don’t think he needs to change anything. The way he understands the game and the pitch, we saw two kinds of examples in two matches. When the pitch was bad in Gold Coast, he spent time, and here he figured out right at the start that the pitch is good for batting, so you saw an approach like that,” he replied.

India reached 52-0 in 4.5 overs in the final game before rain played spoilsport and Patel highlighted that the opening duo of Abhishek and Gill complemented each other really well.

“We are not seeing this for the first time. Abhishek Sharma is at the other end. He is known for his six-hitting ability, and Shubman is known for his four-hitting ability, and we got to see both those things in the partnership. Although it rained in Canberra and here, we saw confident knocks from Shubman. The strike rate we have been consistently talking about was also 181,” Parthiv observed.

Abhishek will be next seen in action in a five-match T20I series against South Africa, whereas Gill will lead in the upcoming two-match Test series.