Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has said Shubman Gill has been putting pressure on himself since his return to T20Is, and the team management wants him to bat with the same freedom that he does in the IPL. Gill returned to the T20 fold in the Asia Cup in September, fresh from leading India to two unforgettable Test wins in England. The expected runs haven't flowed since his recall as opener-which saw him displace Sanju Samson at the top-but with the T20 World Cup just a few months away, his form has become a concern.
Speaking after India lost the second T20I to South Africa, ten Doeschate felt Gill needed to relax and express himself more in this format, but his team had glimpsed that towards the latter stages of the Australia series. Ten Doeschate also rallied round captain Suryakumar Yadav, who has had an inconsistent run since taking over leadership. India's bowlers had a bad evening on a batting-friendly pitch as they conceded 213, with Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah both going for big money-54 and 45 runs, respectively, in their four overs. Arshdeep's 11th over, which cost 19 runs, including seven wides in succession after being slog-swept down the ground by Quinton de Kock for a straight six, was particularly.
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"Taking on the captaincy the way he did in England and how well he led and how much pride he took in that performance, I think an element of that carried over into what he wanted to do in the T20 side," said the assistant coach in response to a PTI query.
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"So if anything, he was too caring and maybe a little bit too tight. Like I said, towards the back end of Australia, the talks were around freeing up a little bit more, trying to relinquish that responsibility, certainly in that capacity where you feel like it is all about you and you really need to justify your place in the team.
"We don't want him to do that. We want him to play as freely as he does during IPL seasons. We believe in his class and we believe he will come good, and exactly the same with Surya (captain too has had an extended lean run)," said ten Doeschate.
"Surya again is such quality and we have high expectations of the players. If you are going to be India's number three, there is pressure on you to score runs.
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"There has been a fairly long string of form now where he hasn't got the scores we like. But in isolation, we are certainly not worried about it. Batting at three again, the job we want from him is to go out there and attack.
"Again, he is someone I also thought had a lightbulb moment in Australia. I thought he has been batting really nicely leading into this series as well. Like I said, two games we are not worried about and we are confident that he will come good," said ten Doeschate.