He should have continued to open: Shubman Gill's dad

In the winter months, strolling around Dharamsala’s cosy cafes amid snow-capped peaks can tend to have a soothing influence and wipe out all worries. If you were watching cricket at the HPCA Stadium on Friday, Shubman Gill’s languid strokeplay likely had that same calming effect. It must have certainly done for Lakhwinder Singh, the 24-year-old’s father and first coach.

Witness to Gill’s fourth Test century from one of the corporate boxes at this picturesque facility, Lakhwinder knows his son’s game perhaps better than anybody else. So when Gill stepped out repeatedly against England’s spinners on Friday, continuing from the second innings of the Ranchi Test, Lakhwinder was very pleased.

“Stepping out has made a big difference, he had stopped doing that and that created pressure. Since his U-16 days, he has been stepping out to spinners. That’s his natural game. You shouldn’t move away from your natural game,” Lakhwinder said during the lunch interval on the second day.

That Gill is back among the runs is certainly a big plus for India. Before this series, he was averaging 23.71 in eight innings at No.3 but a productive run against England – he is the second-highest run-getter with 452 runs in these five Tests – has pushed that number to 41.2. He had moved down to No.3 from the opening position at his will during the tour of the Caribbean last year. As an opener, he averages 32.37 in 29 innings.

Lakhwinder, however, believes that Gill should have continued taking guard against the brand new ball at the top. “He should have continued to open. When you sit in the dressing room, the pressure tends to increase. When the ball is new, you get more loose balls. When you come in after 5-7 overs, the bowler is also set with his line and length,” Lakhwinder felt. “But I don’t interfere in his decisions, I just make him train. He is old enough to make his own decisions.”

By scoring two centuries and looking more assured as this series has progressed, Gill has allayed some concerns about his Test record not reflecting the talent at his disposal. Lakhwinder put some of Gill’s earlier failures at home down to the spin-friendly pitches India were playing on. “The pitches were tougher in some of the earlier series. The whole team was only scoring 250-odd. The tracks have been good for batting in this series. The whole game is about confidence. When you get one good innings, you are back to your best.”

Stereotypical of the strict Indian dad though, Lakhwinder wants the runs to keep flowing from Gill’s bat. “I can never be satisfied as a father, the same goes for the player. One should never be satisfied.”