Asia Cup 2023: 'It makes a difference', Shubman Gill says Indian batters not used to facing Pakistan's pace trio

India opening batter Shubman Gill on Saturday reflected on the team’s batting struggles in the recent Asia Cup group match against Pakistan, saying that lack of familiarity in facing their pace trio could be a reason.

Pakistan’s pace trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf have taken the Asia Cup by storm, combining to take 23 wickets in the tournament so far.

The trio combined to take all 10 wickets against India and see them off for 266. However, Pakistan’s run-chase failed to take place as rain washed out the encounter in Pallekele.

“When you are playing at this level, you play left-armer pacers previously at some point of your career. We do not play Pakistan that much as compared to the other sides. They have a quality bowling attack. When you do not face such a bowling attack frequently and are not used to it, it makes a difference,” Gill said at the pre-match press conference in Colombo on Saturday.

India face Pakistan once again, this time in the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup in Colombo on Sunday. However, rain is forecast for the crunch encounter.

Gill said that his and Rohit Sharma’s contrasting batting approaches make life difficult for the bowlers.

“I am someone who likes to play along the ground in the powerplay. Rohit takes on bowlers aerially. This combination works well for us. How different we are as players makes it difficult for bowlers to contain us,” added the 24-year-old, who celebrated his birthday on Friday.

Following a productive Indian Premier League (IPL) season with Gujarat Titans (GT) where he won the Orange Cap, Gill has suffered a recent dip in form.

Gill said that it depended on how good the bowlers were, and their ability to outperform the batter.

“Yes you go back to the good times (during a slump). Sometimes it is not even about technique. It is just about the bowlers, they are also there to take wickets. You can get some good deliveries. When you play well, there are things that go in your favour. You just have to trust your game and keep going to get those big runs,” said the youngster.

Gill managed just 10 runs against Pakistan last time out, while Rohit, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer all underperformed. The right-handed batter said it was important to lay a solid foundation with the bat.

“Our plans will be the same, to give a solid foundation and then dominate. In that last game against Pakistan, our top order did not do well. But still, we made around 260 and looked set to make 310-320 runs at some point at such a wicket. These are good signs,” said Gill.