Can Gill and Iyer fill the Virat-void?

ON TUESDAY, SHUBMAN Gill was named India's men cricketer of 2023. On Wednesday, a day before India's first Test against England, he turned up for a full-on nets session at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

- VENKATA KRISHNA B Hyderabad, January 24

It's a rare sight because most first-eleven regulars skip the match-eve practice session. Mostly, only the backups turn up, more in the hope of an opportunity opening up at the last minute.

But few batsmen in India's line-up, weakened by the absence of Virat Kohli, would be as under pressure as Gill could be. So he slogged for a good couple of hours in the nets under the unusually searing January sun.

After starting off against seamers, he quickly shifted to facing the spinners (all net bowlers). Having struggled in the past against off-spinners, he would seek one out and instruct him to bowl a bit slower through the air as he alternated between attack and defence. There were times when he was beaten on the outside edge. Gill would often respond with an aggressive shot.

Once Gill became confident, he would scruff the surface with his spikes on the fourth-fifth stump channel around the full and good length areas. The off-spinner would test him by constantly targeting the rough patch, with the odd ball keeping low and jumping. Considering his returns in Test cricket in the recent past, the first two against England are of huge significance for Gill.

Since scoring a century in the last home Test, against Australia in Ahmedabad, his highest score has been 36 in seven innings. Before the squad for the first two Tests was announced, there were even deliberations over his spot, but the management kept his faith in him, waiting for him to crack the consistency code in the longest format, as he has in the ODIS, where he has been India's most bankable batsman in the last 15 months.

Wanted: Daddy tons