The silk of Shubman Gill was ever-evident. The angular grace when he drove on the rise, the sound akin to the crisp roll of a drum, the insouciance when he short-arm jabbed or pulled, and the warm smile that spread over his face when he winked in a milestone, India’s latest batting scion exuded an irresistible charm.
In the ongoing series against England, the steel of Gill too became ever-evident. It was a series that could have broken him, instead ended up defining his understated virtues, the grit and resolve, that make him.
So much so that the images that define him are not the usual ones. It’s not so much about his flowing strokes, as it is about the dirt on his shirt, or the sweat on his brow, or a four-less half-century.
He came into the series with question marks on his game against spin bowling. Eight innings later, he would admit he is not yet flawless against spinners even on semi-turners.
But by registering a hundred and two half-centuries of immeasurable value, Gill has displayed that he has the flexibility of mind and technique to subdue them.