WTC final: "Shubman Gill will have to work on his footwork" - Sanjay Manjrekar

Shubman Gill scored 28 & 8 in the WTC final.
Shubman Gill scored 28 & 8 in the WTC final.

Sanjay Manjrekar believes Shubman Gill will have to work on his footwork to become successful in English conditions. Gill was dismissed for just eight runs in the second innings of the World Test Championship (WTC) final by Tim Southee.

An inswinger from Southee did the trick as Shubman Gill was trapped lbw while looking to play a shot through mid-wicket. Sanjay Manjrekar highlighted that the young Indian batsman is too focused on his front foot, and, as a result, is getting caught in the crease.

In a chat on ESPNCricinfo, Manjrekar said:

"Shubman Gill will have to work on his footwork. He is getting out to ball that leaves him and the ball coming back in- that is a problem. It's always on the front foot. Right through this Test match, not once have i seen him go back. So he is really focused on making sure he doesn't get out to the ball that is pitched up. There is a lot of talk of his front pad not going far enough and getting caught on the crease. Again he got caught up in making sure that his front pad is across and worried about the outswinger."

Following his outstanding performance in Australia in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Shubman Gill is going through a lean patch. In his last seven Test innings, the 21-year-old averages just 10.85.


"He left some balls beautifully. But the ball coming back in surprised him" - Sanjay Manjrekar on Shubman Gill

Sanjay Manjrekar raised question marks over Shubman Gill's tendency to always plant his front foot forward. While it does help to leave balls outside off stump, incoming deliveries make him a prime candidate for lbw. Manjrekar said in this regard:

"He left some balls beautifully. But the ball coming back in surprised him. I'm a little sceptical whether that is the right way to go about, to be on the front foot all the time."

The WTC final is evenly poised, with all three results still possible heading into reserve day. India currently lead by 32 runs with Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara at the crease.

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Edited by Samya Majumdar