Indian Test captain Shubman Gill is ushering in a new era for the team’s approach to home Test matches, indicating a clear departure from the past preference for extreme spin-friendly surfaces. This strategic shift aims to create more balanced pitches that offer a fair contest for both batters and bowlers, moving towards a ‘hard, grinding cricket’ philosophy.
For years, under captains like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, India often opted for ‘rank turners’ at home, which, while securing many victories and leading to two World Test Championship (WTC) finals, also resulted in some lopsided contests and challenging conditions for their own batsmen.
Speaking to the media ahead of the first Test against West Indies, Gill elaborated on this new vision. He expressed a desire to play on ‘truer surfaces,’ reminiscent of those in England where the team achieved a memorable 2-2 draw in a series where he personally amassed 754 runs over five Tests, all of which went the full distance.
Gill believes that while spin and reverse swing will remain key elements of red-ball cricket in India, the focus will be on ensuring Tests are engaging, drawn-out battles rather than quick, one-sided affairs. “We are looking to play hard, grinding cricket. Over the past few years, Test matches in India haven’t really lasted for five days. What we are looking to do is to play some good hard cricket. All the Test matches that we played in England went pretty deep. We wouldn’t be looking for any easy options,” Gill emphasized, his words reflecting the clarity he seeks both in strategy and his own batting.
This renewed focus on longer, more challenging cricket appears to be influencing his personal preparation too. After a somewhat tentative net session on Tuesday, his practice on Wednesday was notably more composed, with improved flow, rhythm, and tight defense. When asked about his approach to switching between formats, Gill noted, “I was just looking to work on defense and trying to get in the zone. Switching formats is more mental than about technique.” He added that adapting from longer to shorter formats is generally an easier transition for him, explaining, “I just try to get in the zone. That zone is nothing for me. Just watching the ball well and being able to decide the areas where I can defend and attack and showing the requisite patience to be able to stick to that process.”
Workload Management Questions Surface Again
The team’s workload management policy, particularly concerning key pacers like Jasprit Bumrah, has once again become a talking point. This debate was reignited during the England Test series, where Bumrah was slated to play only three of the five matches, drawing some criticism. Given his absence from some Test matches and subsequent participation in the T20 Asia Cup, questions about his management have grown.
When asked if Bumrah would feature in both Tests against West Indies, Gill’s response remained non-committal. “We’re going to take a call on a match-to-match basis depending on how long a Test match goes on and how many overs our fast bowlers bowl,” he stated, indicating that flexibility and bowler welfare will be paramount in their decisions.