NEWS
Follow UsMuch to everyone's surprise, Suryakumar Yadav pipped Hardik Pandya as India's new T20 International (T20I) captain. However, that was not the only surprise to emerge out of the squad selection for the upcoming white-ball tour of Sri Lanka. Shubman Gill was unveiled as India's new vice-captain not just in T20Is but in the One-Day International (ODI) format as well. Moreover, India will go into the tour with a new backroom staff led by head coach Gautam Gambhir and his assistant coaches Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate.
Gill, though, recently led a second-string Indian side to a 4-1 series win over Zimbabwe, which to a certain extent would have buried the ghosts of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, where Gill-led Gujarat Titans (GT) finished eighth.
In the brief time Gill has spent with Gambhir, the batter says that the communication has been very clear, as it had been under the previous management as well. "Communication has been the same like it used to be," said Gill at the press conference ahead of the T20I series agianst Sri Lanka, starting July 27 (Saturday).
"We have only had two net sessions with him [Gambhir]. This is my first time working with him. His intent and communication has been clear so far, he knows what he wants from each player.
"I think the line of thinking and mindset [of Suryakumar and Gambhir] are on the same page. I had played under Surya Bhai in South Africa too. Their understanding is similar and I think you'll get to see the effects on the field as well."
While Gill never played for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) during Gambhir's stint, he had the chance to work eith Nayar, the batting coach of the franchise, till 2021, before moving to GT.
Gill lavished praise on the former all-rounder, saying, "He is very hardworking and stays on the ground for long hours till the players are satisfied with their own progress. I think that is his biggest positive."
Gill admits that he was not up to the mark in the games prior to the T20 World Cup and as a result, he was axed from the squad for the mega event. Gill looks that as a learning curve and hopes to do better in the next cycle.
"Speaking of the World Cup selection, I think my performances in T20I prior to that weren't as good as I had expected from myself. But going forward, we'll be playing about 30-40 games in this cycle, and the focus will be to perform better as a batter," the 24-year-old said.
Gill had a mixed series with the bat against Zimbabwe. While he scored a couple of fifties, his runs came at a lower strike rate than Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad and his Punjab teammate Abhishek Sharma. However, the batter believes that the role of vice-captaincy will not add any extra pressure on him.
"As a batsman, it doesn't change much. When I'm batting out there, I still need to perform and win matches for my team and my country. That doesn't change. But when you are on the field, you have to make a few more decisions than as a player, so I think that's the main difference," he said.
With Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli out of the picture in T20Is, Gill-Jaiswal opening the innings seems to be the way forward for India. They have done well as a pair as well, having put on a couple of century stands in their eight innings together. Gill admits he enjoys batting with Jaiswal.
"We really enjoy batting with each other. The kind of shots we both play, we compliment each other. Also, being a rightie-leftie partnership [really helps]. We've had many good partnerships in the limited games that we have opened together. We have a lot of clarity and understanding between us, and it is a lot of fun," Gill, who had played 19 T20Is for India, said.
India's tour of Sri Lanka contains three T20Is and as many ODIs. All the T20I games will be played in Pallekele between July 27 and 30, but the action will shift to Colombo for the ODIs, where the two teams will collide between August 2 and 7.
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