In a rare overlap between the tech and cricketing worlds, India’s Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill shared the stage with Google CEO Sundar Pichai at the tech giant’s Gurugram office for a Google India event on Saturday, February 21, where the prolific batter gave an impromptu masterclass on one of cricket’s more nuanced skills: playing the short ball.
Gill was seen addressing a question on the topic, with Pichai even having a go with the bat himself, making for an unlikely but entertaining exchange between two giants of their respective fields. The setting was a fitting one, given Google’s growing presence in India and cricket’s status as the country’s most beloved sport.
The India captain began by explaining the fundamentals of playing a conventional pull shot, stressing that arm extension is at the heart of it. “When you’re playing a pull shot, your arms need to be extended. That’s how you meet the ball and stay in full control,” Gill said. It sounds simple enough, but as he went on to explain, the margin for error is razor-thin when a batter is rushed for time.
“But when you’re late, you don’t have that much time. You realise you can’t extend your arms, so you use your wrists and your hip to generate the power instead,” he explained. It is a skill that most batters are forced into under pressure, but Gill revealed that for him, it was something he actively embraced and developed over time.
“It is not something you practise very often, because you don’t want to be practising getting caught late,” he acknowledged. “But I was also the kind of player who liked to play late. I liked the ball coming in close to me. Instead of using my arms, I’d use my wrists and my hips. That’s how I got the ball away faster,” he added.
The insight offered a glimpse into what sets Gill apart as a batter. Where most players look to get into position early and play with full arm extension, Gill has made a virtue of the unconventional, turning a potential weakness into one of his more distinctive strengths.
Off the field, Gill has been on an extended break from competitive cricket. He last featured in the ODI series against New Zealand, which India lost 1-2, while his final Test appearance also ended in disappointment, with the side suffering a defeat on home soil against South Africa.
Meanwhile, the Indian T20 side continues its campaign at the T20 World Cup 2026. Suryakumar Yadav’s men have been impressive so far, sailing through their group stage unbeaten and into the Super 8s. They face South Africa on Sunday, February 22, as they look to become the first team in history to successfully defend the T20 World Cup crown.
