'Best friend' Abhishek gives Shubman much-needed practice against spin

Dubai, Sep 20 (PTI) It was an optional net session ahead of the Pakistan clash but Shubman Gill's obsession with practice meant he couldn’t resist hitting the nets even when most teammates preferred recovery.

Twelve Indian players chose rest after a gruelling two-hour round trip from Dubai to Abu Dhabi and 40 overs in draining heat.

But Gill, with only 35 runs fromx three group games, knows he has fallen well short of his own standards.

His struggle against spin has been glaring in this Asia Cup and when Gill needed help, close friend Abhishek Sharma turned into a left-arm spinner, giving him an extended workout along with the throwdown specialists.

The session, though, underlined Gill’s discomfort.

Abhishek kept firing in arm balls, and bowled flat, denying him room to play straight. Gill tried sweeping but looked completely unconvincing, failing to connect a single attempt. At one point, Abhishek even walked down the track to suggest trying the inside-out lofted shot over extra cover.

Varun Chakravarthy’s spell further exposed Gill’s desperation as he charged out blindly and would have been stumped by a mile in a match situation.

He looked more at ease once the net pacers took over, lofting straight and flicking a few out of the ground, though even then a left-arm seamer managed to induce a thick outside edge.

For all the effort, it wasn’t a convincing session.

The vice-captain remains short on confidence against spin and knows that against Pakistan on Sunday, a failure could put India under early pressure. PTI KHS AT