India captain Shubman Gill dedicated his training session in Colombo to countering left-arm spin after being dismissed twice by Prabath Jayasuriya in Galle
Gill faced left-arm spinners Ravindra Jadeja, Manav Suthar, and local net bowlers at the Sinhalese Sports Club to address his historical vulnerability
Spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule stated that Gill is adapting to the pitch conditions and following his natural way of playing
India skipper Shubman Gill dedicated his Friday training session on August 21 to addressing his vulnerability against left-arm spin, PTI reported. The targeted net session comes ahead of the second Test against Sri Lanka, which begins in Colombo on August 23.
During the first Test in Galle, left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya dismissed Gill twice for scores of 16 and 8. Despite his individual struggles, India won the match by 165 runs.
Overcoming Left-Arm Struggles
Gill carries a documented weakness against orthodox left-armers. Bowlers of this type have dismissed him 11 times across 42 Test matches, often exploiting his inadequate covering of the line.
To counter this, Gill faced left-arm spinners Ravindra Jadeja, Manav Suthar and local net bowlers at the Sinhalese Sports Club. He averages 61 against off-spinners and leg-spinners combined, maintaining a career average of 48 against all spin types.
"The way he plays, there is a flow of runs always. So, he is somebody who is just assessing the pitch condition, pace of the pitch and seeing what are the type of shots he can play, what are the defences he can manoeuvre. He is just adapting to the conditions," spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule told PTI.
"There is nothing too much into it in terms of planning how he is going to approach. He just follows his natural way of playing each innings," Bahutule added to PTI.
Squad Rotation And Rest
Vice-captain KL Rahul and spinner Kuldeep Yadav rested during the Friday training session.
Kuldeep struggled in Galle, conceding 103 runs in 25 overs for a solitary wicket. A diving catch by Gill at covers secured that lone dismissal.
"Both KL and Kuldeep are resting. We finished five days of match, we travelled from Galle. So that’s the reason," Bahutule told PTI.
In Kuldeep's absence, off-spinner Saransh Jain bowled to Rishabh Pant and Gill in the nets, squaring up Pant twice. Middle-order batter Dhruv Jurel arrived late to the training ground. Jurel secured a valuable fifty alongside Rahul in the first Test.
