Long Read: Inside the Beautiful Mind of Shubman Gill

After demonstrating his talent in the most extended format, India’s most exciting young batsman is looking to take his T20 game to the high level.

Shubman Gill had a question for his national captain, Rohit Sharma, ahead of the Indian Premier League. “I asked Rohit a tactical question about the pull shot, specifically how he watch the bowler’s mind when Shubman hits the ball in the air.”

Gill enjoys playing the pull, and people want to watch him play it; it’s a shot he is been practicing since he was a kid. Years of facing short balls on cement wickets ingrained in him the pull and the upper-cut.

He wants to change it for the shortest format and reduce the number of dot balls.

After demonstrating his potential in the most extended form – most notably with the 91 in the historic Brisbane chase of 2021 – one of India’s most exciting young batting talents now seeks to elevate his T20 game.

“I mostly react” (to the short ball). So I don’t have high hopes. But T20 is a game where you have to anticipate a little bit,” the Gujarat Titans opener told The Indian Express just days before the IPL 2022. “I was working on a couple of things at the NCA (National Cricket Academy), and hopefully, you’ll get to see them once the IPL starts.”

There are few better people to ask for advice on anticipating when looking to pull aerially than India’s captain. Getting on top of the ball also keeping it down while pulling is one thing, but Rohit can ride the bounce and send the ball soaring with plenty of distance because his bat swing comes from slightly beneath the delivery’s trajectory. That will almost certainly necessitate some foresight and the ability to choose the length early on. Over a long T20 career, it has helped Rohit hit a six every 17.5 deliveries; before this IPL, Gill had managed one six every 30 balls.