Indian selectors and the team management have fast-tracked quite a few youngsters into the senior team in recent times. Among the list of cricketers, the 19-year-old Shubman Gill is one of them.
Gill had impressed one and all with his stellar batting performances during the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2018 in New Zealand. The lanky right-hander had finished the showpiece event with 372 runs to his name and was rightly adjudged Player of the tournament, which the Boys in Blue clinched by beating Australia in the final.
Subsequently, Shubman fetched an IPL contract with Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 1.80 crores. Playing at different batting positions for KKR, Gill finished the season with 203 runs at an average of 33.83. He also sparkled in the Ranji Trophy 2018-19 season, scoring 728 runs in 5 matches (9 innings) at an average of 104.00. Thanks to his rich vein of form, Gill received the national call-up for the white-ball tour to New Zealand as a replacement of suspended KL Rahul.
Reflecting on his memorable journey, Gill, in an exclusive interview with Sporstar, said: “Life’s changed a lot in terms of the experience I am gaining, even at a higher level. Early last year, when I was preparing for the (U-19) World Cup, I would think if I do well here, it may lead to more opportunities. But I hadn’t imagined all this would happen so soon.”
He credited the legendary India U-19 and India A coach, Rahul Dravid, for transforming him as a player in the last couple of years.
“Rahul [Dravid] sir has helped a lot in this transition. He is aware of what a youngster needs to do to adjust to higher levels of cricket. It’s not only about batting. Many times, you lack fitness, or the fielding standards are not up to international level. One needs to match the highest standards in all aspects of the game. He helped me realise all that. Besides, I also learnt how to handle success and failures from him. Also, at times when a youngster reaches the highest level, he starts taking it easy and doesn’t work as hard in the nets as earlier. I feel it’s important to take the additional effort in other aspects but you cannot compromise on your basic work ethic if you have to sustain at a higher level,” he added.
During the New Zealand tour, Gill made his debut in the fourth ODI at Hamilton. The right-hander featured in two ODIs against the Black Caps but failed to make an impression.
Recalling his debut game, Gill said: “It was an overwhelming experience. When Ravi [Shastri] sir told me after the third match I would play the next one, it was a surreal feeling. To take the field with players whom you have idolized since childhood, to get the India cap from Mahi bhai, it was amazing.”
Talking about his batting style, the talented youngster said: “I feel every batsman has his way to score runs. At the end, what matters is the amount of runs you have scored, not how you get them. I try to score runs off every ball. In today’s cricket, it’s important to reduce the number of dot balls. If you keep rotating strike, it unsettles the bowler and the strike rate too doesn’t fall.”
