India coach refuses to credit captaincy for Shubman Gill's incredible batting run: 'I had seen it back in Australia...'

According to Kotak, Gill’s clarity and mental adjustment have made a real difference, helping him thrive with the bat.

India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak believes Shubman Gill’s red-hot form in the ongoing Test series against England stems from a shift in mindset rather than the responsibilities of captaincy. Before the start of the series, Shubman was under the scanner for his overseas record, but he has shut his critics with a record-breaking double century and a couple of tons to start his captaincy tenure on high. With the kind of form he's shown, Gill appears to have seamlessly stepped into the massive void left by Virat Kohli at the No. 4 spot.

Shubman Gill has been in tremendous form in the ongoing Test series. (ANI)

According to Kotak, Gill’s clarity and mental adjustment have made a real difference, helping him thrive with the bat. He pointed out that his mindset has changed from Australia to England, which he has witnessed from close quarters.

"I don't think it's because of the captaincy that things have changed. I feel it's more about his mindset. I had seen it back in Australia during our initial practice match, and later in the India series-his mindset back then and now has definitely changed. There has definitely been a technical change too. He thought about it, made some adjustments, and is still working on it-which every batsman does silently," Kotak said, addressing the press at Lord's.

While his twin centuries have come since taking over as skipper, Kotak stressed that it’s Gill’s intent and composure at the crease that have truly stood out.

"So I think it's much more about his mindset. He's now in a frame of mind where he wants to spend time at the crease. And as I've said before, his skill is such that any loose ball he gets, he converts it into a boundary. He's scoring hundreds in 140 or 150 balls quite regularly," Kotak added.

'Shubman Gill didn't play a single shot until he was properly set'

The batting coach claimed that it is more the mental aspect which has helped Gill take his red-ball game to the next level, while he also gave an example of it from the first Test where he scored a century in the first innings.

"I would say it's more mental, and yes, definitely a bit of a technical adjustment he's made. But I think it's mainly mental-the determination I've seen in the way he's batted. Everyone must have noticed: In the first game, second innings, he played a shot early on that he later admitted was premature. He spoke about it. Then in the next Test, he didn't play a single shot until he was properly set. So yes, it's a lot more mental," Kotak observed.