Former Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt said that Shubman Gill's batting was one of the highlights of the first ODI between West Indies and India for him. He also lashed out at the batter for his dismissal and called him lazy.
Playing the ODIs after a long gap, Gill set the stage on fire in the first ODI against West Indies in Trinidad. Opening the batting alongside skipper Shikhar Dhawan, the Punjab batter displayed his class with the bat.
Gill took the aggressive approach and timed the ball to perfection which made many applaud him. He paved his way through the maiden half-century and took his team off the flyer, stitching a 119-run stand for the opening wicket with skipper Dhawan.
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With the way he batted, it almost seemed that he would score a hundred but his own mistake led to his downfall.
It was during the 18th over of the match when Gill tapped the ball on mid-wicket and instantly ran for a quick single.
He accelerated at the start but was very casual in the middle as Nicholas Pooran grabbed the ball and his direct throw saw Gill getting caught inattentive and was short of the crease, going back for 64 runs.
Speaking in a video posted on his YouTube channel, Salman Butt said the highlight of the first ODI between West Indies and India was the way Gill batted. He believes that the young batter has a lot of time and the way he times the ball seems like an action replay.
“The highlight of the match for me was the way Shubman Gill batted. He played very beautifully. It seems like he has a lot of time, and there is also a lazy elegance. He times the ball so well that it appears as if he is doing it in the action replay," Salman Butt said.
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Butt also lashed out at Gill for being lazy. He said that the way he was dismissed wasn’t unlucky as it was his laziness that saw him back in the hut. He pointed out that the right-hander should’ve run faster and it cost him his hundred.
“Shubman Gill wasn’t unlucky with the way he got out. He was lazy. He had a lot of time and should have run faster. However, he was very casual and assumed that the fielder wouldn’t go for the throw. When you’re playing so well, there shouldn’t be such laziness. It cost him a hundred and probably cost India another 50 runs," he said.
Gill would be hoping to go one step ahead and smash a hundred when India takes on West Indies in the second ODI at the same venue on Sunday (24th July).
