NEW DELHI: India captain Shubman Gill showed remarkable consistency in his approach and demonstrated respect for “good balls” en route to a record-breaking 754-run tally in the Test series against England, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar said on Tuesday.While Gill narrowly missed surpassing Sunil Gavaskar’s record of most runs by an Indian in a bilateral Test series (774), he did eclipse Gavaskar’s mark of most runs by an Indian captain in a series (732). With 754 runs, Gill now sits second on the all-time captains’ list, behind only Sir Don Bradman, who scored 810.“Shubman batted brilliantly throughout the series. He looked calm, composed and organised,” Tendulkar said in a series of videos posted on Reddit.“When it comes to quality batting, you got to have a clear head and a game plan — how you’re going to build your innings — and he was extremely consistent as far as his thought process was concerned, because it reflects on your footwork.”
“If you’re not clear in your head, your body doesn’t respond accordingly. His body was responding brilliantly. He looked so much in control. He had so much time to play the ball and there was precision to his footwork,” he added.Tendulkar highlighted Gill’s ability to deal with quality deliveries as a key strength.“The most important thing that I noticed was the respect to a good ball, where the tendency sometimes is to push the ball on the front foot, even if it’s not close to your foot,” he said.“He was able to defend there and consistently defend well on front foot. If you look at how he batted throughout the series, I felt that his front foot defence was solid. His ability to leave the ball was very good. Overall, shot selection was very, very good and precise.”‘SUPERB APPROACH’ BY SIRAJTendulkar was also full of praise for pacer Mohammed Siraj, who led India’s bowling attack during the five-match series and picked up 23 wickets, including a match-winning spell at The Oval in the final Test.“Unbelievable. Superb approach. I like his attitude,” Tendulkar said.
“I love the spring in his legs. If you don’t look at the scoreboard and you just look at his body language, you will not be able to make out whether it is on a day Siraj has taken five wickets or has got nothing – the body language is the same.”“(Siraj’s) attitude and approach are the same. If a fast bowler is constantly in your face like that, no batsman likes that,” he said.The batting maestro noted that while India were slightly off the mark during England’s strong partnership between Joe Root and Harry Brook on Day Four, the team responded impressively the following day.“The team played like a solid unit. From the time they walked out on the field (on Day Five), everyone looked charged up and focused. As we say, planning-wise, there was a definite plan. There was much more discipline in their approach, especially the bowlers,” he said.“If you notice, on the fourth (day) evening, I think they were lacking a bit of discipline and that invariably happens when there is a partnership (and) two batters are playing an attacking game,” he added.‘LEAVE RISHABH ALONE’Tendulkar spoke about wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, saying that while he has figured out his game, he should not be overly scrutinised for his shot selection.
“He has developed a good habit of playing impactful innings. He’s figured out his game. There were occasions where people felt that he didn’t need to play a certain shot, but someone like Rishabh should be left alone,” Tendulkar said.“I’m not saying that (he should attack) when you’re looking to save a match — then obviously he has to have a different approach. But if it’s the first innings, or the second innings, or the third innings, or even for that matter, if he’s playing in the fourth innings, in which situation (allows), that he’s figured out.”JADEJA, JAISWAL, RAHUL EARN PRAISETendulkar called senior all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja an “underrated player” who doesn’t always get the credit he deserves.“I would say, an underrated player. The way he contributes, he doesn’t get that much credit. As a batter, he has been remarkable in this series. Not only in this series, but if you notice many times, he’ll come and he’ll rattle the opposition,” he said.He also lauded Yashasvi Jaiswal’s fearless approach and maturity at the crease.“He (Jaiswal) has impressed me because of his mindset. Because he is a fearless batsman and he knows when to accelerate, when to play and (take a) run, (and) when to go to the non-striker end. I think a batter needs to understand that,” he said.Tendulkar was equally impressed by KL Rahul’s composed and disciplined batting.“It’s possibly one of the best that I’ve seen him (Rahul) bat. The way he was defending, close to the body and the way he was leaving the ball, I thought he was completely organised,” he said.“He knew where his off stump was and where to leave the ball. I almost got this feeling that sometimes he was able to frustrate the bowler,” he added.
About the Author
