Shubman Gill brutally exposed before IND vs AUS Border-Gavaskar Trophy 4th Test

Shubman Gill has struggled to make an impact on his Australia tour so far, as he failed to convert his good starts into big scores, and the story is the same in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

Reacting to Gill’s struggles, Dinesh Karthik believes that a "technical flaw" and the influence of playing too much white-ball cricket are the reasons behind the Indian batter’s failures in Australia.

Dinesh Karthik identifies the reason behind Shubman Gill's batting struggle

The former Indian wicketkeeper-batter has pointed out that Shubman Gill's tendency to push at the ball, especially in Test cricket, has become evident in his recent performances in the ongoing five-match Test series between India and Australia.

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Throughout three innings in the first two Tests of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, the right-handed batter has only managed 60 runs. He missed the first match in Perth due to a fractured thumb and then managed 31 and 28 in the pink-ball Test at Adelaide, while he was dismissed for just 1 in the drawn Test at the Gabba, Brisbane.

Ahead of the Boxing Day Test, Karthik pointed out that when players focus too much on white-ball cricket, they tend to develop a habit of pushing at the ball, which doesn’t work in Test cricket, and that’s why Shubman Gill is struggling to make runs on the Australian soil.

Shubman Gill has got a slight technical error: Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik said on Cricbuzz: “I think Shubman Gill definitely has got a slight technical error, which is pushing at the ball. When you play a lot of white-ball cricket, you tend to do that (push at the ball). Even Travis Head does that, but what he has found is a method of doing that, and I think that players like Shubman are caught in the trap of the way they bat in India and the way they bat outside.”

In places like Australia, England, and South Africa, batters need to adapt by playing with soft hands and focusing on playing the ball closer to their body or leaving it altogether, but Gill's instinct in India is to play aggressively and reach out for the ball, and he is playing that way Down Under and losing his wicket, so he needs to change his mindset and approach.

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Karthik further explained, “The moment you see the ball released from the bowler, your mind tells you that this is a full ball you need to go at it. Batsmen who travel abroad to places like Australia, England, and South Africa tune themselves in practice when they see a fuller ball like that, especially against a new ball: A) they play with slightly soft hands or B) they try and focus on playing the ball as close to the body or leaving it.

Shubman Gill is playing like he would play in India, where he sees the release and goes for the ball with hard hands. So, at the start of the innings, he will have to tell himself that 'I have to leave.'”

Dinesh Karthik slams India's batting in the BGT 2024-25

In the end, the cricket pandit stressed that Shubman Gill has played very ordinary shots so far in the Test series despite batting the very crucial number three spot. He also said that Indian batters have not fired in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 yet, and with every passing innings, they are putting pressure on themselves.