Flashback 2023: Shubman Gill rises to highest grade on world stage in 2023. In 2023, Gill scored 2154 international runs in 52 innings with 10 fifties and seven centuries. Gill scored season highest in IPL 2023 with 890 runs from 17 innings.
The best part about class players of any generation of the game is how comfortable and uncomplicated they make any shot look. Coming into this year, Shubman Gill was scoring runs, but the requirement for him was to take that giant step on the world stage. He exuded the confidence of a man, who is at the peak of his game, and ready with answers to any bowling line-up thrown at him.
In 2023, Gill has scored 2154 international runs in 52 innings with 10 fifties and seven centuries. He gave Gujarat Titans (GT) an 890-run season in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at an average of 59.3 and strike rate of 157.8, decorated with four fifties and three centuries.
The smooth transformation of Gill at the world stage
“Straight bat, high elbow, head still, getting on the top of the bounce.”- Those were the words former India opener Wasim Jaffer used in 2020 to praise the skillsets of Gill. He aims his boundaries mostly in the gaps and also looks for quick runs without bashing every delivery. The sweetest part of his batting is how he could send the same ball to different corners of the ground.
He has kept himself away from playing those unorthodox shots just like Virat Kohli, who also publicly accepted how these practical shots helped him grow and maintain stability across three formats.
“What truly impressed me about Shubman’s batting was his remarkable temperament, unwavering calmness, hunger for runs and astute running between the wickets.” – The greatest Sachin Tendulkar praised Gill in a social media post.
Let’s take a look at how Gill has managed himself in all formats
Gill cracks the ODI code with 1584 ODI runs in 2023
Gill began the year most excitingly as he nailed the New Zealand bowlers all-round the park in Hyderabad to score his maiden ODI double hundred. The 208-run knock was about his resilience and grit at the beginning, and the moment he crossed the century mark, it was about those funky stylish shots.
But the question was whether he could soak up the pressure of a voltage game in a multi-national tournament. And Gill stopped his critics with a 302-run tally in Asia Cup 2023 in six innings at an average of 75.50 including his couple of fifties and his 121-run knock against Bangladesh.
With the standard he set coming into the ODI World Cup 2023, Gill had a decent season, accumulating 354 runs in nine innings at an average of 44.25 and strike rate of 106.94 with four half-centuries, as he missed the start of the competition with dengue fever. However, Gill ended this year as the highest ODI run-getter with 1584 runs in 29 innings at an average of 63.36 and strike rate of 105.45, decorated with nine fifties and five centuries.
Read More: IND vs AUS, 2nd ODI: Gill, Iyer score centuries, spinners bamboozle Aus; India win series
Three-dimensional dynamics of Gill in the shortest format
Just like he began 2023 with a remarkable double century, he nailed a fabulous unbeaten knock of 126 runs in 63 balls against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, where he averages around 67 in 12 T20s at a strike rate of 159.3.
The question was how he would be in the IPL 2023, opening for the Gujarat Titans (GT). He almost gave them successive trophies, with an 890-run season in 17 innings at an average of 59.3, at a strike rate of 157.8 with four fifties and three centuries.
The most eye-catching part of his T20 batting is how he shifts gears. He starts a bit slow to get familiar with the condition, and as the game goes on, he takes his wild character. The same player who denies some fancy shots in red ball games plays the reverse scoop or switch-hit effortlessly.
Gill looks to improve in a comparatively average year in whites
In comparison with the white ball formats, Gill’s batting wasn’t up to the mark when it came to Test cricket in 2023. He didn’t get a great start in the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2023. However, he polished those stats with an amazing 128-run knock at his favourite ground in Ahmedabad. He failed with low scores of 13 & 18 in the World Test Championship (WTC) final 2021-’23 against Australia. Just 45 runs came in three innings from his bat in the Caribbean.
In the recent Centurion Test, he had a quiet first innings. On a tough surface, Gill batted with a positive mindset and intent. Just when he looked good with some fluent shots, he made one mistake, and that was enough to put curtains on his innings. In this year, Gill has managed 258 runs in 10 Test innings at an average of 28.7 with just one century.
The next year will see India play several Tests at home, and it’s high time that Gill starts to polish his Test record to complete the full circle of transition. It’s now or never.
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