'I hadn’t imagined all this would happen so soon'- Shubman Gill on his transition

The 19-year-old Shubman Gill made his ODI debut against New Zealand earlier this year, in January with India as tourists. Just one year prior to that an 18-year-old Gill became the Player of the Series for his performance in the Under-19 World Cup in which India had emerged victorious. From there to being India’s latest ODI cricket recruit, Shubman Gill has taken a huge leap in a matter of just 12 months.

During the transition period, he played the role of a finisher for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League to accuracy. That too not as a power hitter. He extended his brilliance in the domestic circuit wherein he made remarkable performances across formats and he also played for India A.

“Life’s changed a lot in terms of the experience I am gaining, even at a higher level. Early last year, when I was preparing for the (U-19) World Cup, I would think if I do well here, it may lead to more opportunities. But I hadn’t imagined all this would happen so soon,” Gill said in an interview with The Sportstar.

Even though he’s not the power player we’d expect him to be, Gill says like every other batsman he has his own unique way to control his batting skills. He said that in today’s cricket, it’s important to ‘reduce the number of dot balls’. In order to do that he keeps rotating the strike, which according to him ‘unsettles the bowler’ and the strike rate too doesn’t fall. He decently puts it as, “At the end, what matters is the amount of runs you have scored, not how you get them.” No wonder he’s a conventional batting gem for India.