Another final. Another disappointment. Batsman Shubman Gill continues to run out of luck when it comes to performing in finals.
However, to be fair to the Gujarat Titans captain, he has certainly played his role and carried out his responsibilities with a fair amount of assurance and gumption in his team’s runners-up finish this IPL season.
His overall figures with the bat in this IPL — 732 runs at an average of 45.75 and a strike rate reading 163.02 — went a long way in earning the Titans a final berth.
But producing a top innings in the final of a tournament carries a different significance altogether. More so in the IPL, which is on a very high pedestal at present in contemporary cricket. Gill couldn’t do that.
It won’t be right to say that Gill lacks big-match temperament. The Qualifier 2 against Rajasthan Royals was a virtual semi-final, and he responded with a century
that flattened the Jofra Archer-led bowling attack and helped the Titans chase down a 215-run target and reach the final.
Had he been able to follow it up with an impactful innings on Sunday against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, it would have further enhanced the India Test and ODI captain’s chances of making the selectors and the team management think differently about him as far as T20Is are concerned.
“At present, Shubman doesn’t quite fit into the dynamics of the Indian T20 team, which is about being ultra-aggressive and focusing on hitting as many sixes as possible with an aim to post 250 on the board.
“That’s how Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson
and Ishan Kishan have been playing lately, and apart
from that, there’s also the pressure from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. So, realistically, it’s quite tough for Shubman to make a quick return to the T20I side.
“But yes, the consistency that he has shown over these two months may create some pressure on the selectors as well as the team management, his name could be back during discussions at least going forward.
“Besides, he’s the leader in the other two formats, so you can’t just keep him out of the fray,” a BCCI insider explained.
One advantage of Gill, who last played a T20I back in December versus South Africa, is his ability to score quickly, relying largely on conventional cricketing strokes. These help in dealing with pitches that are two-paced and sluggish with variable bounce.
Additionally, finishing as the second-highest run-getter in this IPL and leading his team to the final should help the 26-year-old in approaching his coming assignments with extra confidence.
In less than a week, he will be back in action for the one-off Test against Afghanistan in Mullanpur, beginning this Saturday. With the focus more on Tests and ODIs now till the 50-over World Cup next year, India need their leader to be more assured of his decisions going into the coming matches.
Though the Afghanistan Test isn’t a part of the current World Test Championship cycle, Gill must be eyeing a strong performance there and in the three ODIs that follow, which should double up as a statement going into India’s bigger and tougher clashes ahead.