“Disappointed, but won’t overthink”: Shubman Gill on omission
India batsman Shubman Gill expressed his disappointment after being left out of India’s senior squad for the upcoming West Indies tour. Featuring fresh faces in Shreyas Iyer and seasoned players in Manish Pandey, India’s T20I, ODI and Test squads were announced on Sunday. Coming off a successful stint with India A, Gill said he expected to be picked for one of the three squads.
“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. 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,” Gill said in an exclusive interview with CricketNext.
Gill’s reaction to his exclusion doesn’t come as a surprise. He was India’s A top-scorer in the one-day games against West Indies A with 218 runs including 3 fifties. His contribution earned him the ‘Player of the Series’ award and resulted in India A winning the series 4-1.
“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”, he added.
International Debut
Earlier this year, 19-year old Gill was drafted in the Indian ODI team to replace KL Rahul for the New Zealand series. He played a couple of ODIs, but couldn’t leave a lasting impact on debut with single-digit scores. Him being left out for the West Indies tour may have surprised fans and experts, including former India captain Sourav Ganguly. But, chief selector MSK Prasad clarified that Gill will have to wait for his opportunity since he first came in as a replacement.
A learning curve
Gill’s biggest takeaway from the India A one-dayers though was his ability to adapt to challenging foreign conditions. The youngster admitted that the pitches were tough to play on and the West Indies team they faced was equally challenging. He had to step out of his comfort zone and bat differently.
“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. 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.”
Gill will now stay back in the Caribbean for three unofficial Tests, the first of which begins in Antigua on Wednesday.
“The first Test is in Antigua, where I have played a couple of one-dayers now so I know the pitch well,” he said. “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”, Gill concluded.
