Rahmanullah Gurbaz is trying to tackle his recent batting inconsistencies with over aggression. He is talented. He is courageous. But he doesn’t put a price tag on his wicket. His style of aggression has got only one gear. Today was his day where he executed an impressive cameo successfully for his side, Islamabad United in PSL. In 31 balls, with the help of four sixes & seven boundaries, Gurbaz completed 62 runs before getting out.
Gurbaz gifted his wicket to the Zalmi’s when the asking rate was five
The asking rate was hovering around five at that time. It meant that he could’ve consolidated & patiently waited for the loose balls to cash in & carry on. This kind of aggression is not going to pay off everyday. In the recently concluded ILT20, he scored 168 runs in eight innings at an average of 21, with only a solitary half century. Similarly, in the T20I series against UAE, he could manage only 45 runs in three innings, with the highest score of only 20. This reflects his recent struggles to score consistent runs on good flat asian turfs.
Playing too many shots too early is bringing his downfall
One of the major weaknesses in Gurbaz is his tendency to play too many shots too early in his innings. While he has shown the ability to hit boundaries and sixes at will, he often gets carried away and plays rash shots, leading to his dismissal. In the T20I series against UAE, Gurbaz was dismissed thrice while attempting to play aerial strokes. He often tries to manufacture lofted shots off his hips which has outsmarted him on numerous occasions towards the square leg fence.
Are the wrist spinners getting the better of Gurbaz?
Even if he manages to survive the early scare of power play without getting dismissed, he doesn’t look to consolidate. He keeps the attacking mode on. But his aggressive skills are often found wanting against quality spinners like Hasaranga, Imran Tahir & Sunil Narine. Instead of knocking the ball around, he opts to attack these magicians and loses his wicket. His weakness in reading the wrist spinners is an open secret these days. Today was no exception either. He lost his wicket to leggie Usman Qadir by playing across the spin. I don’t know whether he ever realizes where he is repeatedly going wrong. If he doesn’t address this quickly, these mistakes will become a chronic habit which will be hard to get rid off.
Patience is the key to succeed
It’s not that he looked jittery in most of the recent knocks. His impatient self has been the primary reason for his downfall. He lost the majority of his wickets due to poor shot selection. The amount of risks that he takes in almost every ball doesn’t yield a good dividend in the longer run. He must have at least lost out on dozens of opportunities to score a hundred. Not only would it have boosted his international profile further but would also have done a world of good to raise his confidence. Gurbaz is an abundance of natural talent. If he incorporates a little bit of patience into his game to play bigger knocks, it will essentially be an icing on the cake. But at the moment, it is all bang bang from ball one.
Slower cutters are deceiving Rahmanullah during the sudden rush of blood
Apart from the impatient mindset, he seems to have developed few technical issues to deal with. Although he times the pacy deliveries pretty well but very often due to a sudden rush of blood, he faces difficulty in timing the slower variations from the bowler’s arm. He almost got foxed twice in today’s game when he wanted to launch Wahab Riaz over covers. He was lucky that on both occasions he was dropped by the fielder.
Better temperament is required to play long innings
To overcome such weaknesses, Gurbaz needs to work on his technical skills and temperament. He often commits mistakes in shot selection. In order to avoid that, he must learn how to curb his attacking instincts early on and focus on building the partnership longer. He must take time to settle in and look to rotate the strike before going for the big shots. Besides, he also needs to pay attention to read the bowler’s arm in order to avoid dismissals from slower cutters.
Minor adjustments can fine tune the game
Gurbaz should practice playing late and try to move his feet towards the line of the ball. Sometimes due to heavy adrenaline, he rushes too soon & throws the bat around without even getting closer to the line or pitch of the ball. If he starts meeting the ball under his eyes, it will help him develop the habit to play with a much straighter bat. In order to improve his game against quality wrist spinners, he must reach out to specialist coaches and practice more & more against world-class spinners to pick their usual variations. Once he gets used to them in the nets, hopefully he will slowly gain the confidence to play them at ease.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz has a huge potential to take the cricketing world by storm
But having said everything, Rahmanullah Gurbaz is an exciting young prospect with the potential to become a world-class batter. However, his recent struggles with the bat have exposed some weaknesses that needs quick redressal. With correct guidance from experts and non stop practice, Gurbaz can tune his temperament & master the art of consistency. It will gradually help him to fulfill the potential to become a top-notch smart & explosive opener in international cricket.
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