Shubman Gill has copped heavy criticism for his sluggish starts and inconsistent scores, but Rohit Sankar argues that there’s a T20 beast waiting to be unleashed in the young India batter.

The Mumbai Indians-Kolkata Knight Riders rivalry is the most lopsided team battle in IPL history. Heading into the second game between these sides in the 2019 season, KKR had lost nine straight times against Mumbai, and in that season, were struggling to stay in contention for a place in the playoffs.

KKR was in turmoil at the time, having lost six games on the trot. Andre Russell publicly criticised the management for playing him down the order, worsening things. A fixture against their nemesis Mumbai Indians at that time was their worst nightmare, but the match turned out to be one of the best games in KKR’s history.

While Russell, who made 80* off 40 from No.3 and then picked 2-25 and two catches, is remembered as the architect of it, the foundation for the win was laid by Shubman Gill, opening the batting for just the fourth time at KKR.

In the first over against Barinder Sran, the 19-year-old Gill smashed two fours off the first two balls, and then a humungous six to make 14 off the over. In the final over of powerplay, a Lasith Malinga dipping yorker at the base of his stumps was clipped away nonchalantly to square leg for a boundary. There was a backfoot punch for four off Bumrah and another glorious stepped out six off Rahul Chahar. In no time, Gill had made 76 off 45 balls and paved the way for a huge KKR total.

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A year before, Shubman Gill, still an under-19 prodigy, feasted on a Chennai Super Kings attack in the 2018 IPL. Chasing 178 for a win, KKR were reduced to 40-2 inside the first five overs with Chris Lynn and Robin Uthappa dismissed.

Out walked Gill, with his reputation from the under-19 World Cup a few months back yet to be unleashed in the IPL. Off his second ball, Gill short-arm jabbed Watson through square leg with a crunching pull stroke. The next ball, he moved slightly leg-side and deftly dabbed the ball past MS Dboni for a boundary.

Gill soon unfurled a full-fledged sweep against Harbhajan Singh and lofted Dwayne Bravo inside out over cover for fours. When the required run-rate crept up near the 10-run mark, Gill turned it around emphatically in the 15th over with two sixes – a gorgeous pull off a short ball and a memorable cut over deep point. Gill had made his first IPL fifty and guided KKR home helped by Dinesh Karthik unfurling his magic from the other end.

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Two very contrasting knocks from the past that paint a distinctly different picture of Gill, who went from a No.7 batter to an opener and a member of the leadership group in three years of his IPL career. It’s safe to say Gill had quickly turned into the Indian face of the franchise, a talented youngster they were hoping to integrate seamlessly into their brand, and of course retain ahead of the mega auctions.

It didn’t take long for this aura to unravel. Despite being an audacious hitter of short lengths and a very fine player of spin, Gill’s returns were far from good. At the time the first leg of IPL 2021 was cut short in May, Gill had become an enigma KKR just couldn’t crack. He might well have been the ‘man’ that head coach Brendon McCullum referred to when uttering the famous line “if you can’t change a man, change the man”.

“I think as a player, you ask to be given freedom and confidence and loyalty when it comes to selection, to go out there and take the game on and try and be aggressive… and to try and make things happen for your team,” McCullum said in the post-match press conference of the final game KKR played in the first leg of the season. “That’s the style of play which both myself and the captain [Eoin Morgan] have asked of our players. But unfortunately we’re not quite getting that. We’re certainly not getting it in the abundance that we need.”

In UAE, Gill has notably been starting quickly. Against RCB, he charged down the track inside the first 10 balls he faced to club Kyle Jamieson past mid-on for four. He then lofted the Kiwi quick over extra cover for another boundary. When Yuzvendra Chahal came in, Gill played the slog sweep to counter him twice in an over.

It wasn’t too different against Mumbai Indians in the next game when he smashed a good length delivery from Trent Boult – the second ball of the innings, mind you – over square leg for six with a nonchalant flick.

Against Chennai next game, he lofted Deepak Chahar for a four over mid-off off the third ball before creaming a drive off the next. He was run out two balls after that and couldn’t carry forward the aggressive start.

8th IPL fifty fo Shubman Gill.🔥

A fighting fifty from KKR opener in a modest run chase.#KKRvSRH #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/OIZgLrY99M

— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) October 3, 2021

A stepped-out six against Axar Patel in the second over of the game in Sharjah shortly after the entire Delhi Capitals innings saw zero sixes showed that Gill was going about his game with no preconceived notions.

It didn’t count for much against Punjab either when, despite stepping down and bludgeoning Mohammed Shami through the off-side for four, he made seven before being bowled by a terrific Arshdeep Singh delivery.

Last night against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gill finally converted his start in a low-scoring run-chase, making his first fifty of IPL 2021. Notably, he handled Rashid Khan with ease, reading his wrong ‘uns and casually milking him for runs.

After six games in the second leg, Gill has an average of around 27 and a strike-rate still below 120. Not impressive on the face of it, but there’s a marked improvement in his approach that shows more clarity in his game and importantly more support from the other end with Venkatesh Iyer blazing away. Gill didn’t quite have an opening partner who complemented him since the departure of Chris Lynn from the franchise and with Iyer in now, the youngster seems more assured of his role in the side.

No longer chained to being the anchor in the side, Gill is starting to showcase his range against pace and spin. In all but one (when KKR were chasing 119 to win and Gill didn’t have to go berserk at the start) of the first five games of the UAE leg, Gill has showed remarkable intent at the beginning, something he had struggled to do through 2020 and the first leg of this season.

It’s too early to push him into the long list of remarkable Indian T20 openers in the league. And it’s also too early to club him alongside some of the finest anchors in the league. But you know what else is early? Writing off a remarkably talented cricketer, not for the lack of ability, but for his game awareness at just 22. Gill has shown he has the range in this format, and will, with time, evolve into a very fine T20 player.