Captain Suryakumar Yadav believes that Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill, who are inseparable best friends, constitute an intriguing “fire-and-ice” combination in India’s T20 cricket setup because of their contrasting batting styles.
What appeared to be a difficult chase of 172 in Sunday’s Asia Cup match against bitter rivals Pakistan turned into a cinch thanks to an impressive opening stand of 105 runs from the two best friends since they were ten years old.
Abhishek proceeded to get his first fifty of the tournament with a brilliant 74 off 39 balls, while Gill easily overcame a lackluster league stage with a 47 off 28 balls.
“It’s like a fire-and-ice combination. They complement each other really well. And that’s what I want to see. If someone is batting brilliantly, the other can take the back-seat and rotate the strike. It was required today to have a very good start. And they did (provide that),” Suryakumar told mediapersons after India’s six-wicket win in the Super 4 game in Dubai on Sunday.
They have played together since their Punjab U-12 days, so they are familiar with each other’s styles and can switch roles and gears before the opposition can deduce what is happening.
If one looks at their scoring pattern, Gill cuts the fielders on both sides with surgical accuracy, whereas Abhishek favors the aerial path.
Gill’s preferred technique is silky grace if Abhishek likes to hit hard. Gill looked fantastic against spin, but he could afford Abhishek’s dinner bill because his friend had given him a long spell of left-arm spin before the Pakistan match.
Off-field friendships, according to Suryakumar, are always beneficial for developing strong on-field understanding.
“It’s really important to be very good friends off the field. When you open together, that bond matters. Sometimes you don’t have to say anything in the middle,” he said.
“Just a look (glance) is enough — to take a cheeky single, to complement each other if one’s flying or if one’s struggling. That friendship comes into the picture when they bat together,” the skipper couldn’t have summed it up more accurately.
These two can complement one another if there is such a thing as net session obsession.
Even on optional days when no one else cares, Abhishek and Gill will undoubtedly be there. Even if it meant taking a two-hour bus ride one way from Dubai, playing a complete 40-over match against Oman in the scorching Abu Dhabi heat, and then coming back to the ICC Academy for a session the following day to support one another.
Both stayed at Yuvraj Singh’s Chandigarh home during the COVID period, where they trained with the white ball legend in his home gym and would have nets together.
Suryakumar, a pioneer of revolutionary T20 hitting also decoded the two batters, notably Abhishek, who has improved by leaps and bounds in past six to eight months.
What has altered for Abhishek, then?
“It’s just the way he is. Abhishek is very selfless when it comes to his batting style. In the Powerplay, he goes hard, but even after that he knows what is required. He analyses situations, he’s learning from every game.
“Most importantly, he never misses practice. Even if he doesn’t want to bat, he’ll be at the ground, doing something. If you keep working that hard, God always has plans for you,” the skipper put forth his take.
Suryakumar believes that Gill’s natural ability to score runs with low-risk, high-reward cricket shots is what makes him unique.
“With Shubman, everyone knows what kind of player he is,” Suryakumar said, adding, “The only thing I’ll say is he knows how to score runs. Today he backed his shots, took fewer risks, trusted his strokes.”
“And that reverse sweep – I was really happy. He’s been working on it a lot,” the skipper informed.
He didn’t mention though how Abhishek helped Gill hone that by bowling those extra deliveries in the nets.
