The youngster from Punjab was made the vice-captain of the Indian T20I side before the Asia Cup 2025.
The latest news from Lucknow said that Shubman Gill had been ruled out of the 4th T20I between India and South Africa due to a foot injury. The cause of the injury is yet to be known. It is no secret that the young Indian cricketer from Punjab has been entrusted with a lot of responsibility in recent times. But Gill has been on the wrong side of headlines in the T20I format with respect to his performances.
There have been constant questions over his inclusion in the playing XI, which had to be there due to the fact that he was chosen as the vice-captain of the side. Fans were not happy about the fact that players like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson were sitting on the bench, who were as deserving as Gill, if not more. The 25-year-old vice-captain has not been able to make an impact with his blade.
Time is clearly running out for Shubman Gill, to make a place in the Indian XI for the T20 World Cup 2026. Sanju Samson, who is waiting in the wings, has scored three hundreds in his last 10 T20I innings while opening the innings. To add to that, Yashasvi Jaiswal also has a stunning record in the shortest format. The wicketkeeper-batter from Kerala actually has the best strike-rate amongst the three openers, and should ideally be the opening partner with Abhishek Sharma.
There has been a known pattern in Shubman Gill’s batting technique, which has caught him off-guard on multiple occasions. He has been very jittery against the ball that comes in straight, and has fallen to those deliveries on most occasions in his T20 career. Having said that, the Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper will have to alter his footwork a bit to make sure that he is prepared for the incoming delivery.
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The Indian T20I opener has scored a mere 32 runs in the first three Tests against South Africa, and news about his further participation in the series will be revealed in due course. That being said, Shubman Gill’s strike-rate has seen a steep decline against deliveries that come to him at a straighter angle. The only way he came make a comeback against the same would be via his footwork.
This is Shubman Gill’s dismissal in the 3rd T20I against South Africa in Dharamsala. Marco Jansen was running in from around the wicket and he angled a delivery in. If we look at Gill’s footwork (front foot), it has gone nowhere. The 25-year-old is a great judge of balls outside his off-stump, but struggles to move his front foot when the ball is pitched in line.
This is the exact reason why bowlers have targeted him with the deliveries angling into the right-hander. While he is unable to move his front foot, it becomes easier for the bowlers to bring the ball back and catch the gap between his bat and pad towards the stumps. This makes Gill play with just his hands, which he did on this occasion, and was caught in the crease. Eventually, the ball went to hit his stump.
Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar also spoke on the same, and pointed out Gill’s Achilles Heal. Going a step further, he also mentioned that the strike-rate for the Indian T20I vice-captain has gone down a considerable bit to deliveries that are straighter. The youngster has shown in the IPL that it is not a matter of skill.
“In the beginning his footwork was very positive. But if you remove three or four boundaries over 28 games, the issue has been on straighter lines. Against straight lines, his strike-rate has fallen quite low”, said Bangar in an interview.
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