'Did Sachin, I or Gambhir play those cheeky shots?' - Virender Sehwag not impressed with Shubman Gill's three-ball duck against LSG

Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag has come out hard at Shubman Gill as the latter bagged a three-ball duck during Gujarat Titans’ opening match in IPL 2022 against Lucknow Super Giants. Gill opened the innings alongside Australian wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade. He tried to take on Sri Lankan pacer Dushmantha Chameera in the first over but couldn’t time a pull shot to perfection and was caught by Krunal Pandya at backward point.

As GT were chasing a modest target of 159, many weren’t amused with Gill’s approach and called him ‘reckless.’ Sehwag was also not impressed with Gill’s failure as he analyzed his dismissal. Notably, Gill had said that he has learned some ‘cheeky shots’ of late. Highlighting the same, Sehwag said the 22-year-old doesn’t need to do anything different and focus on the basics.

Even if Shubman Gill plays normal cricket, he can succeed: Virender Sehwag

“I think he is a better ODI player. Because in T20 cricket, those players succeed who can hit boundaries at will inside the Powerplay. That is what he needs to work on. He has given statements and said that I have learned some cheeky shots, but with his batting, he does not need to play cheeky shots. Even if he plays normal cricket, he can give a better start,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.

Sehwag further cited examples of himself and his former teammates Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar, who are among the finest openers in the IPL. He apparently said a player can succeed in this format of the game even while playing regular shots.

“He should not forget that when T20 cricket comes around, he either plays too fast or too slow. Last year, he had a strike rate of 120 and we thought that he should increase it. This year, I hope he does not start at 150 and goes off track. Strike rate can be improved while playing normally which Badoni and Hooda showed,” said Sehwag further.

“But Gill needs to get there. He scores 25-30 runs and gets out. Strike rate will increase once you reach 60, 70, or 80. That is when you can play freely. Did Sachin Tendulkar or I or Gautam Gambhir as openers play those cheeky shots. I don’t think so. You can score runs before being cheeky and score quickly,” he added.