The last fifteen days have been nothing but a roller-coaster ride for India batter Shubman Gill. From missing India’s first two games of 2023 World Cup due to dengue to making a comeback for the high-octane clash vs Pakistan, he has seen it all.
The 24-year-old was cruising in a purple patch for the last 12 months and was “disappointed” to miss the early action due to sickness. Back on the park and now back amongst the runs, it was a “nice” feeling for Gill to get his maiden ODI World Cup fifty during the match vs Bangladesh.
“Obviously felt nice. When I was a little sick, I was feeling a bit disappointed on missing out on those opportunities, but definitely felt nice to get some game time,” says Gill at the post-match media interaction.
The moment he walked into the press conference room, the weight loss was very evident as he looked a weaker version of what we are used to saying. For Gill, it was also about being mentally willing to return to action which helped him during the last 15 days.
“I think you have to be mentally willing to go out there and that’s what I was thinking when I was there. Lost a few kilos in the process but hopefully I’ll be able to gain that back,” says Gill.
The weight loss, however, has hardly impacted his movement in the field or batting as he continues to deliver the goods. In the fixture against Pakistan, the right-hander looked in tremendous touch but was unfortunate to get dismissed for 16. Against Bangladesh, he made most of the good start and notched up a very good looking half-century, and comfortably sent two hits over the ropes too.
ICC World Cup: Schedule | Results | Points Table | Most Runs | Most Wickets
In both the fixtures since his return, the right-hander would have enjoyed ball-watching from the other end as Rohit Sharma has continued to bat in blazing fashion. Gill was all praise for his skipper and lauded him for making life easier for other batters.
“Rohit has been batting exceptionally well and he’s been all guns blazing, especially while chasing. And I think that’s giving us the right momentum. And then it’s easier for the batsmen who are coming in when the run rate is around four or five in chasing,” says Gill.
With Rohit in the two games and now with Virat Kohli in Pune, Gill has had a chance to bat with India’s star batters in a World Cup fixture and the youngster wants to keep learning from them.
“To see them how they go about their business in World Cup and in big games is what I always try to learn from them. I think there’s a fine line between sometimes being too aggressive or going in the shell, especially playing big games. But I think the way they play, the way their mindset is playing those big games in the World Cup is what I try to learn from them,” explains Gill.
Gill and batting!
Ever since returning to the set-up, Gill hasn’t missed an opportunity to bat. When he flew to Ahmedabad from Chennai, the youngster had his first net session a day after landing and followed it up with another hour-long hit on the eve of the match against Pakistan. The entire team had an off day after reaching Pune but the entire squad was back for training on October 17. No prize for guessing who was the first entrant and had the longest hit under the lights that evening.
Gill’s batting sessions were divided into two and he did a lot of fielding drills in between his two hits. There was lot of close-in catching work and then regular throw drills before the pads were back on for another round of batting. It was a packed house on that breezy evening as most were expected to skip the optional session on eve of the game.
Most, but not Gill.
READ: IND vs BAN: Virat Kohli Ends 8-year Wait With a Century in ODI World Cup
“Optional training” is not a word which exists in his dictionary as he was out for a net on October 18 too and had a long hit with good friend Ishan Kishan in the adjacent net. Gill batted close to an hour under the unforgiving afternoon sun and faced plenty of side-arm action, Ravindra Jadeja and a whole lot of net bowlers.
Back to full fitness, Gill would now hope he continues to bat for hours and the only direction his roller-coaster heads is up.
Comments
0 comment