Inside Out | Shubman Gill announces his arrival in Tests. But the real test begins now

When Ajinkya Rahane-led Indian team management would have decided to hand Shubman Gill his Test debut at the MCG, it must have been with expectations of some substance, not only promises, because his predecessor at the top of the order - Prithvi Shaw - had that in abundance. The expectations of good performance from Gill haven't been generated purely on the basis of his run-scoring alone, but the team management, including Rahane, had seen him from close quarters while he was batting in the two tour games leading up to the first Test. He looked ready to face the pace attack of Australia, based on his performance in those games.

This team under Virat Kohli is highly competitive and it seems there is more than one contender for each spot in the playing XI, hence, the players sitting in the wings have two initial tasks at their hands while they think of playing on the big stage. First, to break into the playing XI and then, after succeeding in that, repaying the faith immediately as others are knocking the door very hard, The door would be opened in case of failure to convert promises into substance.

It can be widely argued that such circumstances put a lot of pressure on young players but they have no option but to live with the fact that in Virat Kohli’s team, there is no room for players who are not delivering during their limited opportunities in the team. Also, not all players get an equal amount of chances to prove their worth.

Gill got the opportunity to fulfill the first task on the very first day of his Test debut after Indian bowling attack pulled off a heroic effort to bundle out Australia for less than 200 runs. But Indian openers were to bat a handful of overs from the relentless pace trio of Australia in the late phase of the day, where they had nothing to gain, but all to lose.

Gill was on debut, and he could see the challenges he had before him on the very first day of his international career, as well as how different the situation was than what he might have faced playing for India A or Punjab. He also saw Starc delivering a fiery over where he made his partner Agarwal look like an amateur who could pick neither the line of the ball nor the movement in the air. He saw his partner getting into a tangle and get exposed against Starc and may well have visualised the baptism of fire that was about to begin for him.

Cummins did not disappoint and tested all his skills outside the off stump. He could leave alone the balls which he could see outside the line of his off stump but Cummins was skilful enough to move the ball away from the line of the off-stump to keep Gill feeling for them. Openers need the rub of the green to go their way in order to survive those periods of the game and he actually got one when Marnus Labuschagne dropped him at second slip, handing him another life and opening another window where Gill could see his batting blossoming.

Gill never looked back after that false shot and when Starc tested his backfoot game on the very next ball, he was up to the task, showing that all the hype built around him and his technique was quite justified.  Gill grew in confidence and made sure Starc was served a warning that his new opponent is not afraid of backing himself to play according to his strengths, however great the bowling attack he was facing, and that he was not carrying any baggage of the dominance the left-arm pacer has had on his opening partner Mayank Agarwal and predecessor Prithvi Shaw.

When Gill was inducted for the first time in the team, his technique and flow of batting had impressed even Virat Kohli, who had famously remarked about himself not having even 10 per cent of the flair at the age of Gill. The statement showed the respect Gill had in the leadership group of the Indian team and, as stated earlier, it was Gill’s moment to justify that praise in the late phase of the first day at the MCG. 

He was tested severely on the morning of the second day and ultimately was defeated by Cummins, but not in the battle of technical deficiency as was the case with his predecessor Shaw, but in the game of nerves and patience.

On the fourth day of the Test, he was confronted with another similar challenge, as his senior batting partners Agarwal and Pujara were eliminated quickly by Starc and Cummins. Starc employed his tricks of bringing the ball back into Agarwal and finally sucked him into playing a delivery he should have left. Gill was watching all of that happen from the other end, and was readying himself to face the pacer. Starc tried similar tactics against him but Gill played right on top of the ball and the position he was getting just before the release of the ball while shaping up to face Starc emphasized why he is rated so highly by the team management.

Ultimately, the second bout of the battle of nerves was won by Gill and when Hazlewood came into the attack on the historic score of 36, Gill was rich with confidence. He dismissed a short ball of Hazlewood in front of square. It was a shot to announce his arrival on the big stage.

Gill has successfully managed to overcome the first challenge of getting into the team and showing he belongs to this level, but he would be realistic enough to know that the real test of both his technique and temperament will begin now.

A batsman of his pedigree always has to deal with the disadvantage of being too good to be ignored. He will be under perpetual scrutiny of two types throughout his career. One, of intense scrutiny by opposition teams when in a rich vein of form, and another, of worrying scrutiny while struggling from lack of form.

 He would do well to look at the career of someone like his captain in the 2018 U-19 World Cup - Prithvi Shaw - whom he has replaced in the team and Mayank Agarwal, who is on the cusp of exclusion even after becoming the leading run-scorer for India in their last two Test series. Or else, he can also look at an Australian tour as a stage that has defined players in different eras, players such as Virat Kohli, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, VVS Laxman, who have brought their A-game against Australia in the team's own backyard and never looked back again. 

There is no prize for guessing what Gill would be looking forward to achieving from this series, but he will have to make sure to be relentless with his technique and mental ability, just like Starc and Cummins were when he stepped on to the MCG pitch with the bat in hand.

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