"Injustice To Talent": Ex Pak Star's No Nonsense Remark On Shubman Gill

One of the finest performers for India in 2023, Shubman Gill hasn't done much justice to his talent in 2024. After a poor show in the first T20I against Afghanistan, Gill was dropped in favour of Yashasvi Jaiswal for the opening spot. Jaiswal grabbed his chance with both hands, scoring a half-century in the second T20I. Gill, over the last few weeks, hasn't quite managed to justify his place in the team, be it the shortest format or the longest. Former Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt isn't pleased seeing a talented player like Gill going on this sort of barren run.

"I think Shubman Gill has done an injustice to his talent in the last few games. He is too good a player and has too much skill for the kind of hurry that he has been showing. He scores 20-odd and then plays a loose shot. This is what he wasn't doing when he had a successful year. He just needs to bat and bat without doing anything special. He needs to realise that even if you are the best batter in the world, you can't play every ball on your own terms. You have to react to the ball instead of dictating it," Butt said in a video on his YouTube channel.

As for the second T20I, ndia opted to field first and troubled Afghanistan with frequent wickets. Gulbadin Naib (57 in 35 balls, with five fours and four sixes) continued to play unbothered, despite wickets falling at the other end and made an attacking fifty.

Short cameos from Najibullah Zadran (23 in 21 balls with a boundary and two sixes), Karim Janat (20 in 10 balls with two fours and a six) and Mujeeb ur Rahman (21 in nine balls with two fours and two sixes) powered Afghanistan to 172 in their 20 overs.

Pacer Arshdeep Singh (3/32) was the pick of the bowlers for India, while Ravi Bishnoi (2/39) and Axar (2/17) also bowled well to restrict Afghanistan's run flow. Shivam Dube also took 1/36 in his three overs.

In the chase of 173, skipper Rohit Sharma was once again out for a duck. But a returning Virat Kohli (29 in 16 balls, with five fours) played with a refreshing attacking intent and formed a 57-run stand with Yashasvi Jaiswal. Following Virat's dismissal, Yashasvi (68 in 34 balls, with five fours and six sixes) and Shivam Dube (63* in 32 balls with five fours and four sixes) demolished the Afghanistan bowling line-up with their hitting, putting up a 92-run partnership in just 42 balls. Rinku Singh (9*) and Shivam finished off things to give India a six-wicket win and a series win by 2-0, with one game left.

Karim Janat (2/13) was the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan. Axar Patel was the 'Player of the Match' for his bowling spell.

With ANI inputs

from NDTV News- Topstories https://ift.tt/bt3qDkK