Shubman Gill has been appointed as the vice-captain of the T20 team before the Asia Cup, but will his bat speak in Dubai? Although he was the highest run-scorer for India in the previous Asia Cup, repeating this feat won’t be easy for him this time. The reason is the Dubai pitch and a weakness that opposing team bowlers can exploit. Let’s find out in what area Shubman Gill is weak and why he might fail in Dubai.
Shubman Gill is currently in excellent form. He has been scoring runs consistently after the IPL and during the England tour. However, scoring runs won’t be easy for him in Dubai because the pitch there favors spin. While everyone knows that Gill plays well against spinners due to his good technique, the interesting thing is that Shubman Gill’s performance against spinners in T20 Internationals has been very poor.
In T20 Internationals, Shubman Gill has scored 190 runs in 18 innings against spinners. His average against spinners is only 19. Moreover, his strike rate is also a mere 125. If Shubman Gill’s performance in the Asia Cup remains the same, it will be challenging for him. Spinners are expected to play a significant role during the Asia Cup. The Dubai pitch will favor spin, and the opposing teams, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan, have world-class spinners. Thus, Shubman Gill needs to work on this weakness.
However, Shubman Gill performed quite well against spinners in IPL 2025. Gill scored a total of 650 runs in IPL 2025, out of which he scored 270 runs against spinners. His strike rate against spinners was over 163, and his average was also 135. He was only out twice against spinners in IPL 2025. It is clear that Gill has improved his game against spinners, and now he just needs to implement it in the Asia Cup.