JUST four innings into the Test series, Indian batting has comfortably walked with the spotlight firmly over it. They have been led by their young, dynamic and passionate captain Shubman Gill. Others around him have picked up the same fire and intensity as the pre-series talk of a weak and inexperienced batting line-up getting exposed in English conditions has quickly disappeared like the drizzle in England. There is an assurance around the Indian batting. The line-up is stepping up at each challenge, making England and the world realise the depth Indian cricket has to offer. Within four innings, all the fears of a hole in the middle due to the retirement of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have dissipated into thin air. Gill is the chief architect of this change. He has taken up the baton from Kohli, a player Gill adored and admired since childhood. And the young Indian captain has walked almost the same path as his childhood hero did in his playing days, as a passionate captain, as a determined batsman, and as an aggressive fighter even in the face of adversity. Two centuries and an epic double hundred have firmly placed Gill as the worthy successor of Virat Kohli. The comparison might look too early to be made but the class Gill displayed in the two Tests in England has proven that Gill is long-term prospect, with or without captaincy.

 

As stories go, Gill always wanted to compare his performance with Kohli’s exploits in his younger days. The young Shubman would search for junior level scorecards to see what Kohli's scores and achievements were when he was his age. He always wanted to play like his idol. Indian cricket is lucky to have such a player who pursued his dream with the same intensity to reach this level. All Gill now needs to do is pick up the best moments from this dream run and keep replaying them in the future whenever a bad patch hits his batting. All the Indian captain needs is a strategy to carry on with the momentum without fearing for results. The story of India’s batting so far in England has, in fact, revolved around momentum only. From Leeds to Edgbaston, India’s batting unit has blossomed without any hiccup, as player chose their own styles to leave a stamp of authority.

 

The dominance in their strokes and their willingness to adopt audacity against the moving ball bear a different class. It is a different batting line-up, having no fear about results. Not exactly the Bazball strategy, but the Indian batsmen have definitely picked up aggression as the first response to any situation. Gill has showed it in his calculated assault, Yashasvi Jaiswal seems to have got a licence to kill from the team management, and Rishabh Pant has clearly found his freedom. Along with the composed K L Rahul and the gritty lower middle-order, this bunch has handled the transition phase really well. India’s batting is definitely in good hands.