The recently held ODI series between West Indies and India saw young Shubman Gill getting an opportunity in the white-ball format after a while. The Punjab lad didn’t need a second invitation to stake his claim as he was the main architect behind India’s 3-0 win.
Opening the batting, Gill made a mark in all three games. He finished the series with 205 runs at an impressive average of 102.50.
However, the right-hander was criticized by many for his slow strike rate, especially in the third ODI wherein he was stranded on run-a-ball 98* after rain curtailed the number of overs.
However, Gill is not concerned about the outside noise as long as he is contributing to the team’s success.
“I feel questions will always be raised, but I don’t really care about what people are saying as long as I’m able to contribute to my team’s success, and as long as I am doing what my team management and my captain expect of me,” he told The Telegraph in an exclusive chat.
Shubman Gill also said that he was pleased with his performance in the Caribbean but rued his dismissal in the first two ODIs.
While Gill slammed 64 off 53 balls in the series opener, he scored 43 off 49 balls in the second ODI. The 22-year-old committed a school boy error and got run-out in the first game whereas he threw his wicket away in the second match by attempting a scoop.
“I’m pretty satisfied, but having said that, I wasn’t very happy with the way I got out in the first couple of matches. Nonetheless, it was a really good experience for me overall to score those runs in the Caribbean. And yeah, getting those opportunities, too, was helpful,” he remarked.
Shubman Gill has been selected for the upcoming three-ODI series against Zimbabwe, and he is keen on carrying his good form in order to strengthen his claims for the 2023 World Cup.
Gill won the Player-of-the-Series award in the West Indies and he believes it would give him an edge over others.
“I think it gives me kind of an edge in some way. But it will also be important for me to keep backing up these performances and keep being consistent, and keep scoring as many runs as possible for my team,” he said.
The youngster also opened up on conversations with head coach Rahul Dravid.
“My discussions with Rahul Sir have mostly been on finding the right mindset and capitalising on the opportunities I get. It’s not that we’ve been working much on the technical side of things. It’s more on the mental side of the game,” Gill stated.
