"His batting is like watching Roger Federer play tennis"- Salman Butt on Shubman Gill
Former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt went gaga over Shubman Gill's strokeplay in his maiden T20I hundred against New Zealand in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. The youngster has shown that he can be successful across all formats and has what it takes to be the superstar of the next generation.
Butt shed light on the ease with which Gill plays his strokes, which is contrary to modern-day cricket where power-hitting has become so crucial. The former cricketer compared the young Indian opener to tennis legend Roger Federer, highlighting similar finesse that he observed with the two athletes.
In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Salman Butt explained what India are doing right to churn out superstars like Shubman Gill in each generation. He said:
"Shubman Gill is a level higher than him (Ishan). His batting is like watching Roger Federer play tennis, as things just happen, he doesn't force the issue. He plays effortless shots. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and earlier Sachin Tendulkar - it's a series of great players and that's why I call this system smart."
Butt also opened up on how long-format cricket has been crucial in Gill's stunning start to life in international cricket. he added:
"If you see Shubman Gill's latest hundred, it didn't look like he was forcing the issue at all. He was just reacting to the ball. In today's world where there are ramp shots and power hitting, Gill played proper cricketing shots. It's the three-day cricket where the temperament and technique for such big knocks are made and tested."
Technical flaws don't really matter: Salman butt on Ishan Kishan
Ishan Kishan has received a lot of stick of late for his inconsistency, especially in the shortest format. However, Salman Butt reminded his critics of the double hundred that he scored against Bangladesh not long ago.
On this, Butt stated:
"Ishan Kishan has received criticism for his faulty technique. However, he has given performances and as long as those are there, the technical flaws don't really matter since each batter has some technical issue or another. He plays fearless cricket and nad shots out of he box. He tries and take risks to force the issue."
It will be interesting to see if India will persist with Ishan Kishan in T20Is after his woeful form of late.