Published: Jul 23, 2019, 02:34 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 23, 2019, 02:34 PM (IST)
He hasn’t managed to break into any of India‘s three squads for next month’s tour of the West Indies, but teenaged batting prodigy Shubman Gill understands that his time will come.
When India’s T20I, ODI and Test squads were announced on Sunday by chief selector MSK Prasad, Gill’s name was conspicuous by its absence. Prasad said that the 19-year-old had come very close to being selected, and that he would get his chances in due time.
Gill, currently in the Caribbean with the India A squad, where he finished the team’s 4-1 one-day series win over West Indies A with 218 runs at 54.50, told CricketNext that he was disappointed to be overlooked but was not going to let it effect him.
Brilliant series win and happy to have won the player of the tournament. Always proud to wear the blue of India pic.twitter.com/t1u7CouAqk
— Shubman Gill (@RealShubmanGill) July 22, 2019
“I was waiting for the Indian senior team to be announced on Sunday and I expected to be selected for at least one of the squads,” he said. “It was disappointing not to get picked but I am not going to spend time thinking over it. I’ll keep scoring runs and performing to the best of my ability to impress the selectors.
(READ: India’s T20I squad an indication of 2020 T20 World Cup planning)
“It was a fantastic series for me and team as well since we won with a 4-1 margin. Personally, I would have liked to carry on and score at least a couple of hundreds in those fifties. But I will learn from this experience.”
Boasting a first-class batting average of 77.78 after 16 innings, and 47.36 from 46 in List A cricket, Gill hoped that the success for India A in the West Indies – there are three four-day games to play – would him him become a better batsman.
“The biggest lesson that I have learned from my first West Indies tour is to try to curb my natural game depending on match condition,” he said. “It’s important to block the good balls as well and remain at the crease for as long as possible. Person who is set at the crease needs to bat through the difficult period.
“The first Test is in Antigua, where I have played a couple of one-dayers now so I know the pitch well. It’s not an easy track to bat and you have to apply yourself for the first couple of hours at least before starting to play your shots. The next couple of Tests will be in Trinidad where I have not played before, so it will be a tough challenge. I am not sure yet if I’ll be opening the batting in the Tests. Whatever the role given to me, I’ll try to perform to the best of my ability.”
Gill made his ODI debut in New Zealand this year when Virat Kohli was rested. He batted at No 3 in both his ODIs, scoring 9 and 7.
