Shubman Gill played a composed knock in India’s first innings against the West Indies, but his dismissal raised a few questions.
The Indian captain brought up a patient half-century, yet the manner of his wicket through a reverse sweep became a talking point.
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Former all-rounder Abhishek Nayar shared his views on the shot, wondering whether it was really part of Gill’s trusted game.
Why did Abhishek Nayar question Shubman Gill’s reverse sweep?
Speaking on Star Sports, Nayar pointed out that Gill would not be pleased with the way he got out after doing all the hard work to reach fifty from 100 balls.
The Indian opener tried to reverse sweep Roston Chase but ended up giving a simple catch at slip to Justin Greaves.
Nayar drew a comparison with KL Rahul, who had executed the same shot an over earlier for four runs.
He explained that such strokes are sometimes called “percentage shots” depending on field placements. The real question, he asked, was whether this was actually one of Gill’s natural strokes.
"If I wear the coach's cap, he would definitely be disappointed with the way he got out. However, considering the way the field had been set, and when KL Rahul played that shot to get a four, you always call it a percentage shot. Is that Shubman Gill's shot? Does he like it?" he said.
Nayar did not fully blame Gill for attempting the reverse sweep. He explained that had the shot gone for a boundary, everyone would have called it smart batting
Nayar added that he would see it as a case of poor execution rather than wrong shot selection.
"If it had gone for a four, we would have said it's a good shot. Since he got out, it's been asked whether he should have played it or not. As a coach, I would always say that as long as you were confident and your thought process was right, you had already scored a fifty, so it was the right time. The shot was on, but the execution wasn't correct," Nayar added.
Gill scored 50 runs with the help of five boundaries and shared a valuable 98-run stand for the third wicket with KL Rahul, who went on to score a well-made century.
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