AB de Villiers defends Shubman Gill after AUS vs IND 2nd T20I

Former South African captain AB de Villiers has put his weight behind Shubman Gill after the right-hander was dismissed cheaply in the second T20I against Australia at the MCG on Friday. Gill was dismissed after scoring five runs off 10 balls in the second game of the series.

The Indian vice-captain was also hit on the helmet by Josh Hazlewood’s bouncer. AB said we can not expect Gill to score runs everyday and he is also human. Gill scored an unbeaten knock of 37 runs off 20 balls in the opening game of the series as he looked at his usual best.

But Gill could only manage 43 runs in three ODIs against Australia recently and scored only 127 runs in seven matches of the Asia Cup.

AB de Villiers said on his YouTube Channel, “There are good wickets in Australia. Maybe he’s not completely accustomed to the kind of bounce. There must be something, or he’s just human… We expect Shubman to score runs every single day.”

“So, maybe Shubman Gill is going through a patch like that, and he’ll work it out, guys. He’s a class player, class leader, and I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that he will be back. I think it’s more of a mental thing than technical. If it’s technical, he’ll get to the nets and sort it out. I don’t see any reflex. Yes, the performance is not there in the recent and short-term past, but there is plenty of cricket ahead. Plenty to look forward to, and it’s just up to him to sort of freshen up,” he added.

Gill has been in fine form in the red-ball format but he hasn’t been able to consistently deliver the goods in the white-ball formats recently. 

The third T20I between India and Australia will be played at Hobart on Sunday.