India’s young batter Shubman Gill has impressed one and all with his exploits in white-ball cricket for the last couple of years.
In fact, Gill finished was the leading run-getter in ODIs last year, scoring 1584 runs in 29 innings at an average of 63.36 with five hundreds and nine half-centuries. The right-hander also slammed a T20I century against New Zealand in 2023 and won the Orange Cap in the IPL.
However, Shubman has failed to leave a big mark in the longest format of the game so far. His Test average of 35.52 after 25 matches vindicates that he is yet to realise his full potential.
While Gill turned his red-ball fortunes around against England earlier this year, the upcoming home season followed by the tour of Australia will be a litmus test for him.
With two weeks remaining for the home Test series against Bangladesh, Gill is hoping to build on the performance he delivered against England in the five-Test series.
"I worked on my defence a little bit more against spinners. You should be able to defend a lot more when you are playing on a turning track against spinners, then you can play the scoring shots," Gill, who will lead Team A in the Duleep Trophy, said in Bengaluru on Wednesday (September 4), as per PTI.
"With more T20s being played…I won't say on flat tracks but on batting-friendly tracks, I think it takes away a little bit of your defensive game. So, that was my focus in the England series," he added.
The 24-year-old acknowledged that his Test performances haven’t been up to the mark and he hoped to change it in the upcoming season, which will see India playing 10 Tests against Bangladesh, New Zealand and Australia.
"In Test cricket, my performance has not matched my expectations so far. But we are going to play 10 Test matches this season, and when I look back after those 10 Tests, hopefully, my expectations will be matched," he said.
Gill described the Duleep Trophy, which begins on September 5 in Bengaluru and Anantapur, as a great chance for him to adjust to the demands of red-ball cricket.
"This (Duleep Trophy) is a big tournament as every match is important for us. We are playing against some players whom we generally play with in the Indian team. So, we will get to see a good competition," he noted.
The India A captain added that early discussions regarding workload distribution between players and management had taken place given the length of the season.
"There is definitely talk among the selectors and players about the workload. But I think everyone has played a lot of cricket to be able to understand what they need to do when they are playing the match, more so for the bowlers I would say.
"I am sure the bowlers had a conversation with the selectors about how they are going to manage their workload," he said.
Gill confirmed that India pacer Prasidh Krishna will not be available for the Duleep Trophy's opening round. "Prasidh Krishna is not ready for this match," he said.
(With PTI Inputs)
