Shubman Gill, India’s vice-captain in white-ball formats, praised new head coach Gautam Gambhir for his clear thinking, expressing his desire to establish himself as an all-format player in the near future. Gill will serve as the deputy to Suryakumar Yadav in the shortest format and as the second-in-command to Rohit Sharma in the ODIs during India’s upcoming trip to Sri Lanka, starting with the first T20I at Pallekele, Sri Lanka on Saturday. This marks Gambhir’s first tour as India coach, taking over from Rahul Dravid after India’s T20 World Cup victory in the Americas last month.
“We are the world champions and we will aim to play accordingly, and, hopefully, we will achieve more success under the new coaching staff. This is the first time I am working with him (Gambhir),” Gill told the media during a press-meet at Pallekele, Sri Lanka.
“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,” he added.
While his ultimate goal is to bring more success to the team, Gill also aimed to firmly establish himself as an all-format batsman across various conditions.
Although Gill was a travelling reserve with Team India during the T20 World Cup, he could not secure a place in the 15, and the right-hander identified that as the first point of correction.
“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.
But the 24-year-old has set his sights on the five-match Test tour to Australia later in the year and on the subsequent Champions Trophy.
We will be participating in 10 Test matches before January, and I am eagerly anticipating it, particularly the five matches in Australia. Following that, we will be competing in the Champions Trophy, which promises to be very thrilling.
“These six matches (3 T20Is and 3 ODIs against SL) are extremely important as we head into the Test matches,” he stated.
So, does being appointed as the vice-captain in the limited-over formats add any extra pressure on him?
“It (vice-captaincy) doesn’t change much. When I’m out there batting, I still need to perform and win matches for the team.
“But when you’re on the field, you need to make a few more decisions, and that’s the only difference,” he observed.
Gill mentioned that the thought process of Gambhir and Suryakumar is quite similar in terms of their vision for the team.
“I believe everyone 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.”
Following Rohit’s retirement from T20Is, Gill will have a new opening partner in Yashasvi Jaiswal, and the vice-captain was confident of making the partnership work.
“We really 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 had words of praise for Abhishek Nayar, the newly-appointed assistant coach of India, with whom he had 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 own skills. It’s his biggest plus point,” he added.
