Vice-captain of the Indian white-ball team, Shubman Gill, has lauded new head coach Gautam Gambhir for clarity in his thoughts and communication as India preps for the T20I series in Sri Lanka. The 3 T20Is will be played on July 27, 28 and 30 in Kandy.
The young batter believes that this quality will be extremely useful as the squad prepares for future difficulties in Sri Lanka and elsewhere.
Gill also expressed his own goals for the future, adding that he intends to establish himself as a versatile player in all formats of the game.
"We are the world champions and we will look to play accordingly, and, hopefully, we will have more success under the new coaching staff. This is the first time I am working with him (Gambhir). But during those two net sessions, his intent and communication have been very clear. He is very clear about which player he wants to work with at a particular time and on which areas he wants to work with him," Gill told the media during a press meet in Pallekele.
Gill aims to become a versatile batter who can perform consistently across all formats and playing circumstances. His ultimate goal is to contribute to the team's success, but he also understands the significance of establishing himself as a consistent player in any situation.
Despite being a traveling reserve for the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup, Gill was unable to make the final 15-man roster. The young right-hander has identified this as an area for improvement and is motivated to work on his talents so that he may become a vital member of the squad in the future.
"During the matches before the T20 World Cup, I could not perform to the level that I was expecting from myself. In the upcoming cycle where we will play 30-40 T20Is, I will try to improve my performance as a batsman,” he said.
So, does getting appointed as the vice-captain in the limited-over formats add any additional pressure on him?
"It (vice-captaincy) doesn't change much. When I bat out there, I still need to perform and I need to win matches for the team. But when you are out on the field, you need to make a bit more decisions, and that's the only difference," he noted.
Gill mentioned that Gambhir and Suryakumar have quite similar thinking processes regarding their vision for the team.
"I think everybody is on the same page. I have played under Surya bhai, and I think both their (Gambhir and Suryakumar) way of communication and thinking is similar,” he added.
Gill also spoke about his opening partnership with Yashasvi Jaiswal and was confident that their partnership would be successful.
"We enjoy batting with each other, especially the kind of shots that we both play, we complement each other. And being the right-left combination…our partnership has been good in the matches we have played together.
I think we have two 150-run partnerships. We have a very good understanding and communication between us and that's very enjoyable," he explained.
Gill also expressed his admiration for Abhishek Nayar, the newly-appointed assistant coach of India, with whom he had previously worked at the Kolkata Knight Riders.
"He (Nayar) puts in a lot of effort on the ground. He stays with the players until they are satisfied with their skills. It's his biggest plus point," he added.
(PTI inputs)
