Sometimes in cricket, there is a direct fight between the batsmen and the bowlers. A similar thing happened in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy, when a heated argument broke out between Australian captain Pat Cummins and Indian batsman Shubman Gill over the tactics of the short ball.
The controversy was not just a simple statement but a clash of two different cricketing perspectives. While Pat Cummins termed the short ball as a weakness of the Indian batsmen, Shubman Gill completely dismissed the claim.
In the first session of the third day of the Adelaide Test,. In the Adelaide Test, Pat Cummins showed the full effect of his strategy. He constantly troubled the Indian batsmen by bowling short balls. He dismissed the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Cummins took 5 wickets for 57 runs, which was a great comeback after his previous poor performance in Perth. But Shubman Gill questioned the whole strategy and said that the short ball is not a weakness for the Indian batsmen.
Pat Cummins full statement: Open claim on short ball
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, Pat Cummins spoke candidly about his strategy in the press conference.
“Chances are (short-pitched bowling) worked in the Adelaide Test, so when things get uncomfortable it’s always in the back of your mind as Plan B. It worked in Adelaide, so I am sure we will try it in this Test. For the tail-enders, it looked like there was every possibility of getting a wicket.”
This statement from Cummins clearly indicated that Australia were relying on the short-ball strategy.
Shubman Gill’s strong reply: Short ball is not a weakness
Shubman Gill gave a direct and clear reply to Pat Cummins’ statement.
“As far as I know, in this series, apart from the tail-enders, only one batsman has got out to short balls. I don’t know what success is he talking about. We don’t consider the short ball as our weakness.”
This statement of Gill was not only full of confidence but he also directly questioned the claim of Pat Cummins.
While Pat Cummins was confident of his bowling strategy, Shubman Gill made it clear that the Indian batsmen are not afraid of any kind of bowling.
