India’s young opening batsman Shubhman Gill recalled his previous experiences of touring England with India A and India U-19 teams ahead of the much-awaited ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand, starting on Friday (June 18) in Southampton.

Gill said that the intent to score runs should never take a back seat, but at times, you have to leave the loose balls to survive on the tough English conditions.

The right-hander would be hoping that these learnings from the past UK tour will help him in the upcoming WTC 2021 Final against New Zealand and a five-match Test series against England.

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Gill said on Star Sports show Cricket Connected: “When I toured England with India A and the Under-19 team, everyone asked me to play a certain number of balls if I wanted to score runs. But I feel, your intent to score runs should never go on the back seat and you should look to survive.”

He further recalled, “When you are looking to score runs, the bowlers get to the back foot and you can put some pressure on the bowler. If you are just looking to survive, you tend to get more good balls than you should be getting. I think, at times to survive in England you have to leave the loose balls. So, that was my learning from the India A and Under-19 tour.”

Notably, Gill made his Test debut for Team India in Australia earlier this year and made an instant impact in the longest format of the game, and continues to play in Tests for the country. The 21-year-old has so far played 7 Test matches and scored over 350 runs at an average of 35.

(With India Today Inputs)