09 September,2016 11:50 AM IST | | Shalabh Manocha
Left-handed opening batsman Gautam Gambhir seems to have changed his batting stance. During the first two Duleep Trophy games, Gambhir who is leading the India Blue, took guard with a very visibly open-chested stance
Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir
Greater Noida: Left-handed opening batsman Gautam Gambhir seems to have changed his batting stance. During the first two Duleep Trophy games, Gambhir who is leading the India Blue, took guard with a very visibly open-chested stance. Unlike the old stance where his right shoulder would face towards the bowler, now even the left one was visible.
IPL experiment
He first started batting like this during the last edition of the IPL - a change he has brought into his game after discussions with Australia's former batsman Justin Langer. Many former players who have followed Gambhir's career have pointed out that the new stance negates the away going deliveries that have troubled him. There have also been issues with balls pitching full and coming in as his front foot used to go a too far across, leading him to get either lbw or bowled.
The new stance in the IPL yielded results as Gambhir finished with 505 runs at an average of over 38 with five half-centuries. But in the first session on the first day of the first Duleep Trophy game on a green track, it looked like he was struggling initially. In fact, it was Gambhir's Delhi teammate and Red's left-arm seamer Pradeep Sangwan who exposed the chink when he appealed for lbw.
Sangwan's new ball partner Nathu Singh also troubled the opener inducing a mistimed pull shot but the catch was dropped. Former India pacer Vivek Razdan who was commentating when that happened, pointed out that Gambhir being a compulsive puller is likely to struggle with the stance as this one restricts his movement with him not covering the line of the deliveries aimed at his body and are rising.
Razdan's view
Razdan would also point out that on pitches where the seam bowlers get lateral movement, Gambhir could have issues reaching the pitch of ball, leaving a gap between his front foot and bat which could also result in him playing a lot more in the air rather than along the ground.
The expert was sort of correct as once facing off-spinner Akshay Wakhare, Gambhir, did leave an awkward gap between bat and his front pad. The batsman though scored 77 in the first game. In the first innings of the second game he managed 90 but was run-out and in the second innings got another 59 before chopping one on to his stumps. It remains to be seen is whether the new stance works for him.
