Ahead of the Test series, the Indian camp is well aware of the threat the short ball will pose and their success in the series will be dependent on how they counter this threat. Young batsman Shubman Gill, who could be in line for a Test debut, singled out Neil Wagner as one of the big threats for India considering how he uses the short ball to target the batsmen. “I think their bowling attack has been taking a lot of wickets with the short ball, especially Wagner,” Gill said on the eve of the Indians’ practice match in Hamilton. “If you see the last series they played against Australia, when nothing was happening in the wicket, they were really relying on the short ball. I think as a team, as a batsman, if we could take that out of the picture and not give wickets to the short ball, it will be really helpful for us.”
Gill has been in top form in New Zealand and with scores of 83, 204* and 136 with India A in New Zealand earlier this month he has shown great promise. As per the right-hander, the conditions in New Zealand are pretty good for the batsmen, but they will have to be wary of the bounce.
“I think the wickets here are really good to bat on, especially when we played the days game in Christchurch, the wickets were really good to bat on,” Gill said. “The only challenge that we were facing was the bounce. The bounce was really good and it was really consistent. Keeping the wind factor in mind, it was not that easy to consistently pull and hook the ball.”
“I think I have grown as a player, I have grown in confidence and in other aspects of my game. I think I have learnt a lot of things over the last few years. On my fitness, fielding, not just on my batting.”
