'He'll have to work on his technique' - Irfan Pathan, Aakash Chopra dissect Shubman Gill's dismissals against New Zealand

Shubman Gill’s nearly-identical dismissals across two innings against New Zealand in the Kanpur Test have sparked a conversation around his technical shortcomings.

The young batter was dismissed by Kyle Jamieson after a well-compiled half-century in the first innings when the tall pacer jagged one back into him and bowled him through the gates. Earlier, Gill was hit plumb on pads by Ajaz Patel early on in his innings, only for New Zealand players to not appeal convincingly.

He rode on his luck and looked fluent later on, but played on Jamieson eventually to cut his innings short at 52, including five fours and one six. He fell to the same bowler in the second innings for 1 off 3, when the hosts bowled out New Zealand for 296 and had to come in to bat for a brief period towards the end of the third day. Like the first innings, Gill’s feet remain stuck on the ground, with Jamieson knocking down his stumps through the bat and pad gap.

In conversation with Star Sports, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan highlighted the technical issue with Gill’s batting. “His hands come in a roundabout fashion, especially against pitched-up deliveries. If he works on that, he has a lot of ability. Here both his feet remained at the same spot, and till the time the bat came down, it was very late, he said.

“It is not easy at all. The lights are on, the ball moves, and you know that you have to go back, not out. Opening batsmen usually get out because of the pressure to go back, not out. But Shubman Gill will have to definitely work on his technique,” Pathan added.

Pathan’s co-panellist, Aakash Chopra, stated that Gill’s technique makes him a better option in India’s middle-order than the top-order.

“Whenever I see him play, he doesn’t look like a Test opener to me. The way he plays inside the line, the outside edge and the inside edge are both exposed. In my opinion, he is a middle-order batter, and he has been made to open. He has done well as an opener, but his true colour and form will be seen when he bats in the middle order,” he said.