Captaincy brings out the best in me: Shubman Gill
Team India’s young brigade’s skipper Shubman Gill has shown immense self-belief as a leader and has said that taking charge of the team has brought out the best side of him while conducting the proceedings in the blue jersey on the field.
Notably, Gill won his first series as a young captain after beating Zimbabwe in their backyard. It is also worth noting that most senior players of the side were rested after a recent triumph in the T20 World Cup. However, things did not go Gill’s way initially as he lost the first game of his career as a skipper. Barring that, he led the side to a winning steak by trumping the Chevrons by 4-1 on Sunday.
Post the game, Gill reflected on the whole tour. He revealed that he enjoys leading the team as it keeps him engrossed in the game more than usual. Besides, he also admitted that pressure was there both as a batter and also leading the nation but to overcome that in a dominating manner gave him immense satisfaction. Besides, Gill revealed that he has played with most of his young teammates back in the Under 19 or lower levels, and hence going about the business got easier as most players were familiar with each other on a personal level.
“It is something that I definitely enjoy. I think it brings out the best in me when I am out there because I look to be involved in the game. It is something that really brings out the side of me which I enjoy being on the field,” Gill was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
“There was pressure, I wouldn’t say extra pressure but obviously even when you are playing just as a batsman when you don’t perform there is a certain kind of pressure that comes along with it,” he said. “But I think that’s the fun part of it. You kind of feel so many different emotions. Pressure is one of them. And when you get out of that, the satisfaction that you feel is immense.” Gill further added.
Gill won his first-ever series as a Captain as India rout Zimbabwe by 4-1
Meanwhile, speaking of the fifth and final T20I, after winning the toss, the home skipper Sikandar Raza invited Team India to bat first in Harare on Sunday, July 14. Interestingly, the skipper himself took the onus to start the proceedings only to etch his name for an unwanted record. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal smacked him for two consecutive sixes off a no-ball, which meant that the batter scored 13 runs off one legal delivery. Eventually, Jaiswal became the first player to have achieved the feat.
However, soon after Raza cleaned him up to provide some respite. Shortly Abhishek Sharma and skipper Shubman Gill too got out cheaply. Thereafter, the duo of Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag stitched a 65-run stand to steady India’s innings and guided them to a competitive total of 167. In reply, Mukesh Kumar yet again struck early as Zimbabwe lost their first wicket in the third ball of the run chase.
India kept the hosts under the pump as they kept taking wickets at regular intervals. As a result, the bowling brilliance of Mukesh, Sundar, and Dube sealed the game for the visitors as they clinched the match by 42 runs and the T20I series by a 4-1 margin.
