"He is not going to get conditions like Ahmedabad everywhere" - Wasim Jaffer analyzes Shubman Gill's recent batting struggles
Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer has urged young star Shubman Gill to adapt better to different surfaces while breaking down his dismal form during the tour of the West Indies.
Following a sensational start to the year, with four centuries and a double century in a ten-inning stretch until the final Test against Australia, Gill has struggled for form except for the IPL.
Despite a quiet three-match ODI series against the Aussies that followed the Tests, the 23-year-old exploded in the IPL, finishing as the tournament's leading run-scorer with 890 runs for the Gujarat Titans (GT).
However, the elegant opener has had a shocker with the bat since, crossing 50 only once in his last 11 international innings.
Speaking on ESPN Cricinfo, Jaffer felt that Gill's tendency to hit the ball on the rise hinders him on the sluggish West Indian tracks. Jaffer said:
"These West Indies surfaces are like that, you have to wait for it and can't just keep hitting on the rise which Shubman likes. But one thing he needs to understand is he is not going to get conditions like Ahmedabad everywhere. So the better he gets used to the other surfaces and adapts to the surfaces it's going to do him wonders."
A revealing stat indicates a humungous gap between the opening batter's average in T20s outside Ahmedabad this year.
Gill has scored 698 runs in the ten innings at the venue at a stellar average of 87.25 and a strike rate of 177.15. However, the average drops to a staggering 27.33 at a strike rate of 127.72 outside the venue.
"Has a habit of reaching towards the ball when the ball is not coming on" - Wasim Jaffer
Wasim Jaffer went on to state that Shubman Gill needs time to get into the groove, leading to his reaching out to the ball on slower and lower pitches.
In the ongoing T20 series against the West Indies, the 23-year-old has scored a meager 16 runs in three innings at a less-than-impressive strike rate of 55.17. Gill also struggled in the Test and ODI series preceding the T20Is, with a lone half-century in five games.
Jaffer said:
"Shubman is not somebody who goes from ball one. He is not that kind of a player so he takes his time at the start. He has a habit of reaching towards the ball when the ball is not coming on."
Despite scoring a T20I century and an ODI double hundred against New Zealand at home earlier this year, Gill's form is a definite cause of concern for Team India, with the 50-over World Cup less than two months away.
The 23-year-old will look to regain his touch on better batting surfaces in the final two T20Is against the West Indies on Saturday (August 12) and Sunday (August 13).