The secret to Shubman Gill’s rich form in England in the ongoing Test series lies in the work the that the Indian captain had done on his top hand, felt former cricketer and Yuvraj Singh’s father Yograj Singh. Leading the Indian Test team for the first time in his career, Gill showed no signs of leadership pressure as the right-hander came out with flying colours with 147 (in the first Test in Leeds) and 269 in the second Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham.
Having scored 650 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Gill continued his form in England, with two consecutive hundreds in the longest format of the game. Having started on 114 not out on Day 2, Gill showed tremendous commitment and intent to forge two big partnerships with Ravindra Jadeja (203 runs) and Washington Sundar (144 runs) to set the tone as India posted 587 in the first innings.
Just when Gill was poised to become the first Indian captain with a triple hundred in Tests, a lapse of concentration brought his downfall, thereby missing on a milestone by just 31 runs. “Gill has worked on his top hand,” Yograj told ANI.
“He has always had an issue regarding his right hand, but I spoke to Yuvi three days ago and he told me, ‘Papa, his right-hand issue has improved drastically. He can score more runs. I keep telling him not to get out’. The cover drives he played on the rise, head on top of the ball, he adjusted his right hand. It was perfect. I am told he is batting like magic. Because of the slight changes he is constantly making,” added Yograj, who had a brief international career in the eighties.
Although Yuvraj isn’t involved in full-time coaching, the two-time World Cup-winning former all-rounder has had a contribution in Indian cricket even after his retirement. Not only Gill, Yuvraj has been mentoring the likes of Abhishek Sharma and Arshdeep Singh.
Shubman Gill’s dismissal ‘pained’ Yuvraj Singh
Yograj also revealed that Yuvraj felt ‘pained’ after Gill missed the triple hundred. “When Shubman Gill was batting on 200, I wanted him to remain 250 not out. But when the batter gets out, then I am pained. Yuvraj is also feeling the same,” added Yograj.
The 66-year-old also gave Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar’s example for Gill, before adding that current players should learn from the likes of Yuvraj and Gautam Gambhir.
Sachin Tendulkar used to scold himself. Sunil Gavaskar would leave the nets if he got out. People become great because even when they play big innings, they go back and reflect on it, examining what they did wrong. Gill can achieve greater things. He could score 300, 400… if Brian Lara can score 500 not out, then we can too,” he concluded.
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