Gill hits back at Cummins after AUS captain foreshadows 'short ball' tactic in Gabba Test: 'Don't know what he is...'
Pat Cummins has said that Australia would not shy away from using short balls if needed but Shubman Gill has brushed it away
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy has been as dramatic as it was built up to be and the spice of the series seems to be continuing into the third Test with Shubman Gill brushing off any concerns that India may have over hosts' captain Pat Cummins saying that they would resort to some short-pitched bowling if need be at the Gabba.
The Australia fast-bowling ace said in his pre-match press conference that the hosts would not be shy to giving the Indians some short deliveries to deal with as it had worked for them somewhat in the second Test in Adelaide.
"Potentially. (short-pitched bowling) worked out in the Adelaide Test so it's always in the back of your mind as a plan B when things get uncomfortable. It worked in Adelaide so I am sure we will give it a shot at some point this Test," said Cummins. "For the tailenders, it looked like a wicket was very likely."
Gill had come for his interaction with the press after Cummins was done and was asked about the Australian captain's comments. “As far as I know just one batter apart from the tail-enders have fallen to short balls in this series. Toh mujhe pata nahi kaunsi safalta ki wo baat kar rahe hai (I don't know what success he is talking about),” said Gill.
Cummins and Gill's KKR connection
Cummins and Gill were known to share a good bond while they were teammates at Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. "So, I and Patty were there in KKR. We were teammates there and had a pretty good bond. I remember he gave an interview to the KKR management saying that 'we'll have the chin music going on' or something like that," Gill had told The Grade Cricketer Podcast in 2021.
"And then when I was batting, he was continuously trying to bounce me and I was leaving them. After the match, there was a press conference where I said 'if they have their chin music, we know the moves to dance to that'. So the banter was going on and he would go ‘where are your dance moves now?'" he said.
The third Test between India and Australia will be played at the Gabba in Brisbane starting on Saturday. The five-match series is level at 1-1, with India winning the first Test in Perth by 295 runs and Australia winning the pink-ball Test that followed in Adelaide by 10 wickets.