Former Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour feels the seeds of Shubman Gill’s inspiring batting transformation were sown in the home Test series against England in 2024. Rathour recalled that Gill was dismissed while playing a reverse sweep against Shoaib Bashir in the Visakhapatnam Test.
The right-hander was dismissed after scoring 104 runs in the second innings but his dismissal saw India collapse from 211-4 to 255 all-out.
Although Gill’s against-the-run-of-play dismissal didn’t cost India much, as the hosts registered a 106-run win. After his dismissal, Vikram Rathour asked Gill some tough questions and the batting coach revealed that the batter was speechless.
Recalling his conversation with Gill, Vikram Rathour told Cricbuzz, “I asked, ‘okay, tell me who are the five best batters in this century of Test cricket?’ He named the usuals: Sachin Tendulkar, Joe Root, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith and Virat Kohli… and I said, tell me one who would’ve played that shot in that moment. He was quiet. ‘Maybe nobody.’So I asked him, why did you go for that shot? And he said, ‘you told us to sweep and reverse-sweep on turning tracks and there were no fielders there, so the shot was on.”
“It’s not that those five couldn’t play it. It just wasn’t needed. Test cricket is about playing the moment. You don’t play a shot because you have it. You play what the team needs. And I think that is the biggest change I can see in him now.”
Rathour noted that Gill is now batting with his bat closer to the body, which he is helping keep out the incoming deliveries. Gill is in incredible form on the England tour, amassing 722 runs in four Test matches at a staggering average of 90.25.
“In his stance, I can see his elbow of the backhand from the straight [view]. He’s trying to keep his front shoulder a little closed because he is trying to keep the bat closer to the body. Previously, there was a slight gap when he was defending on the front foot with the bat coming a little across and the ball would go through,” said Rathour.
“Earlier, his trigger used to be a big stride back, he used to do it very early also. In England, actually, the lesser you move, the better you are, the more stable you are and the timing of the trigger is very important.”
The fifth and final Test match between England and India will be played at the Kennington Oval, London, from 31st July onwards.
