‘When he plays a defensive shot….’, Gavaskar’s huge remark for Shubman Gill after crucial knock in 4th Test

Team India’s star opener Shubman Gill performed brilliantly in the first innings of the fourth and last Test of the series against Australia. Gill shared a 74-run partnership with Rohit Sharma for the first wicket and brought up his half-century in 89 balls in the innings, putting India in a dominant position by lunch on the third day. Gill suffered a poor performance in the third Test, where he came in as a replacement for the under-performing KL Rahul.

During a conversation on Star Sports after lunch, Gavaskar said –

“He has a lot of time. When he plays a defensive shot, the way he bends forward, even against Mitchell Starc… he presents a straight face of the bat and plays a forward defence, it was so pleasing to see.”

Gavaskar added – “It shows that he has confidence. He doesn’t only play on the backfoot. His foot moves forward and he has a solid defence, not just a solid attack. And in Test cricket, you need that.”Gavaskar spoke at length about Gill’s batting in the innings and insisted that it seemed like the opener had more time on the ball than other batsmen.

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However, as Gill put up an impressive performance in Ahmedabad, earning him praise from fans and former cricketers alike, legendary former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar made a big claim about the 23-year-old opener.

Gavaskar further said –

“Shuffling back and forth against pace bowlers isn’t very easy. But he picks the lines and lengths really well. Kisi bhi ballebaaz ke paas agar time ho, usne agar apne career ko sambhaala, toh aage jaake 8-10,000 run aaram se kar lega (If a batter has time, if he keeps his career in the right direction, he can easily score 8-10,000 runs in Tests).”