In a short span as a top-flight cricketer, Shubman Gill has elicited widespread praise for his batting talent.
Virat Kohli, before departing the New Zealand tour mid-way for a rest, had said “Shubman is a very exciting talent and I saw him bat in the nets and I was like wow I was not even ten% of that when I was 19.”
Ian Bishop, one of the most respected voices of the modern game, waxes lyrical about Gill on social media and during his commentary stints. Having followed the Punjab teenagers from the 2018 Under-19 World Cup (where he was Player of the Tournament), the former West Indies fast bowler has long been an advocate of Gill playing at the top of the order for Kolkata Knight riders.
Kumar Sangakkara, another pundit who is not known for being hyperbolic, had these points to make after Gill’s latest innings in the Indian Premier League: “Doesn’t look ruffled, very decisive with footwork, great sense of timing, maturity beyond his age, perfect balance at the crease – he can be a complete package.” The former Sri Lankan captain, who knows a thing or two about elegance, could not stop praising Gill in the Star Sports studio on Friday night. And he was not alone.
Needing a tricky 184 for victory after electing to field, Kolkata Knight Riders were steered to what turned out to be a convincing win, thanks to a an elegant half-century from Gill. The youngster made made 65* off 49 balls to take his side home with 12 balls to spare. Playing at his home ground, with his family cheering him on, Gill made it a match to remember for himself in Mohali.
“It feels great, my first player of the match award [in IPL] and that too at my home ground. It can’t get better than this. My whole family was here, even relatives from village were there to watch me play. It was important to build partnerships during the run-chase. I decided I have to play deep,” Gill said, with praise coming in from all quarters for his composed batting display.
While his talent has not been in question for anyone who saw him bat in New Zealand during the victorious run for the Indian U-19 team, it seemed KKR were still hesitant to throw the youngster into the deep end. Having picked him up in the 2018 auction, KKR opted to play him as a finisher or a lower-middle order batsman in his first season. In the 13 matches he played for KKR in the previous season, he batted in the top order just once.
If you thought 2019 was going to be different, especially after Gill’s phenomenal run in the domestic circuit that earned him his first Indian senior team call-up, then you were wrong. Much to the surprise of fans and pundits, KKR continued to use Gill at Nos 6 and 7 predominantly.
Shubman Gill's batting performances in the IPL
| Matches in IPL | Runs (Balls) | Batting position |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 2018, KKR v SRH | 3 (9) | 7 |
| Apr 2018, KKR v DD | 6 (5) | 7 |
| Apr 2018, RR v KKR | DNB | NA |
| Apr 2018, KKR v KXIP | 14* (8) | 7 |
| Apr 2018, DD v KKR | 37 (29) | 6 |
| Apr 2018, RCB v KKR | 5* (2) | 7 |
| May 2018, KKR v CSK | 57* (36) | 4 |
| May 2018, MI v KKR | 7 (5) | 2 |
| May 2018, KXIP v KKR | 16* (8) | 7 |
| May 2018, KKR v RR | DNB | NA |
| May 2018, SRH v KKR | 0* (0) | 7 |
| May 2018, KKR v RR | 28 (17) | 6 |
| May 2018, KKR v SRH | 30 (20) | 6 |
| Mar 2019, KKR v SRH | 18* (9) | 6 |
| Mar 2019, KKR v KXIP | DNB | NA |
| Mar 2019, DC v KKR | 4 (5) | 6 |
| Apr 2019, RCB v KKR | 3* (3) | 7 |
| Apr 2019, RR v KKR | 6* (10) | 4 |
| Apr 2019, CSK v KKR | 9 (12) | 6 |
| Apr 2019, KKR v DC | 65 (39) | 2 |
| Apr 2019, KKR v CSK | 15 (20) | 7 |
| Apr 2019, KKR v RCB | 9 (11) | 3 |
| Apr 2019, SRH v KKR | 3 (4) | 3 |
| Apr 2019, KKR v RR | 14 (14) | 2 |
| Apr 2019, KKR v MI | 76 (45) | 1 |
| May 2019, KXIP v KKR | 65* (49) | 1 |
After his fourth IPL fifty on Friday, his captain Dinesh Karthik said what must have been music to the ears of many a KKR fan: “He is a terrific player, it was only fair we gave him a run at the top of the order. He’d been looking for it,” Karthik said after the match.
And there is a reason why Gill has been looking for that, as the table below shows.
Shubman Gill at various batting spots in IPL
| Innings batted | Average | Strike Rate (4s / 6s) | Balls faced per innings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall: 23 (out of 26 matches) | 35.00 | 135.73 (43 / 15) | 15.65 |
| In top four: 9 | 50.33 | 141.78 (28 / 10) | 23.67 |
| Opening the batting: 5 | 56.75 | 149.34 (21 / 08) | 30.40 |
| Outside the top four: 14 | 23.50 | 127.89 (15 / 05) | 10.50 |
| Coming into bat 1st 10 overs: 12 | 37.40 | 140.60 (34 / 12) | 22.17 |
Here are a few takeaways from the above tables:-
- The first time Gill batted in the top four was in the match against CSK in May 2018. Batting at No 4, he made his first IPL half century. In the next match, he got a promotion to open the innings but when that did not work out, he was demoted back to No 7.
- The second time Gill opened the batting for KKR (after that solitary match against MI in 2018) was against Delhi Capitals at the Eden Gardens this season (11 matches later). The result? A superb 39-ball 65, despite coming in a losing cause. Despite that knock, when Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn returned to the side, Gill lost his spot at the top of the order in the next match, going down to No 7 again.
- Before the last five matches of this season, Gill had never batted in the top three of the batting order in back-to-back matches.
- In the five matches that he has been in top three in 2019, he has hit three half centuries. When Gill opens the batting, he averages 56.75 with a strike rate of nearly 150 – both comfortably higher than his overall numbers.
It is not just the numbers above that prove Gill needs to stay at the top of the order – not only for KKR going forward, but hopefully for India in the near future as well. It was also the unmistakable quality in some of the shots he played against KXIP on Friday.
Sure, there were plenty of big hits on the night but you could not have seen a better boundary than Gill’s flick through mid-on off Mohammed Shami or his punch through extra cover off Sam Curran or even his six-hitting off R Ashwin that was all timing and barely any brute force.
Having a consistent run at the top of the order for the first time in the IPL, Gill is starting to back up his undeniable talent with numbers and knocks of high quality. Like he said after the match against Mumbai Indians when KKR snapped a losing streak, “hopefully a new streak begins from here on.”
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