Team India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate mentioned that Shubman Gill has been putting extra pressure on himself in his leadership role, which may be affecting his batting form. He revealed that the coaching staff had a conversation with Gill during their time in Australia, advising him to relax and play more freely. Gill has been struggling for runs in T20Is.
In the second T20I against South Africa in Mullanpur on December 11, Gill was dismissed for a golden duck, edging a delivery from Lungi Ngidi to slip. While he made an impressive start as Test captain, he has struggled in white-ball formats. Notably, Gill is India’s ODI captain and T20I vice-captain.
During the post-match press conference after India’s 51-run loss to South Africa, Ten Doeschate offered his perspective on Gill’s challenges, suggesting the batter may have been trying to replicate his success in England in his T20I performances.
“Taking on the captaincy, the way he did in England, and how he led, 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. If anything, he was too caring and maybe a little bit too tight,” Ten Doeschate said.
“Towards the backend of Australia, there were talks around freeing up a bit more – trying to relinquish that responsibility in that capacity, where you feel like it’s all about you and you 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,” the former Dutch cricketer went on to add.
Ten Doeschate Downplays Gill’s Early Dismissals, Confident Of His Return To Form
Ryan Ten Doeschate also minimized the significance of Gill’s two early dismissals against South Africa. Expressing confidence in the 26-year-old’s return to form, he said:
“It wasn’t a great wicket in Cuttack and he got a good ball today, which can happen when you are short on form. You look at his IPL record. We believe in his class and that he will come good.”
In 2025, Shubman Gill has amassed 263 runs from 14 T20Is, averaging 23.90 with a strike rate of 142.93, and a top score of 47.
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