Shubman Gill's T20 Silence Raises Concerns for Team India: A Closer Look at the Struggling Form Amidst South Africa Series

In the T20 series held in South Africa, Shubman Gill's bat remained unusually silent. His recent record in the last 13 T20 matches has raised concerns.

Over the past year, Shubman Gill has displayed remarkable performances across all three formats of cricket. While his bat spoke well in the recently concluded One Day World Cup 2023, his form in T20 matches has been consistently quiet, posing a new concern for Team India.

The team selectors have entrusted the responsibility of T20 format to young players, sidelining established players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammad Shami in several T20 series. This places a significant responsibility on players like Shubman Gill, who, despite being a young talent, has gained valuable experience by playing alongside senior players in the team. His experience and gameplay could prove crucial for Team India in the T20 format.

Shubman Gill's form becomes a topic of concern

Despite Shubman Gill's outstanding performance in IPL 2023, where he emerged as the highest run-scorer in the season, his bat has remained notably quiet in international T20 cricket.

In the last 13 T20 matches, Gill has scored only 312 runs at an average of 26, raising concerns, especially considering the upcoming T20 World Cup in 2024. In the final T20 match against South Africa, he managed to score only 8 runs, putting Team India in a tough situation. However, the innings of openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Suryakumar Yadav helped stabilize the team and achieve a competitive score.

Gill's statistics in the last 13 matches

In the IPL, Shubman Gill has played 91 matches, scoring 2790 runs at an average of 37.70, including three centuries. However, his international T20 cricket record is less impressive, having played 13 matches and only achieving double-digit scores four times, with the remaining nine innings resulting in single-digit scores.

Let's take a look at Shubman Gill's performance in his last 13 T20 matches:

1. Against Sri Lanka: 7 runs on 5 balls

2. Against Sri Lanka: 5 runs on 3 balls

3. Against Sri Lanka: 46 runs on 36 balls

4. Against New Zealand: 7 runs on 6 balls

5. Against New Zealand: 11 runs on 9 balls

6. Against New Zealand: 126 runs on 63 balls

7. Against West Indies: 3 runs on 9 balls

8. Against West Indies: 7 runs on 9 balls

9. Against West Indies: 6 runs on 11 balls

10. Against West Indies: 77 runs on 47 balls

11. Against West Indies: 9 runs on 9 balls

12. Against South Africa: 0 runs on 2 balls

13. Against South Africa: 8 runs on 6 balls

This inconsistent form in T20 cricket raises concerns for Shubman Gill, especially as Ruturaj Gaikwad recently excelled in the T20 series against Australia. If Gill's bat continues to remain silent, it might open the door for Ruturaj Gaikwad to take his place in the team.