The last six months have been a roller-coaster ride for Shubman Gill across formats. From the bout with dengue during the 2023 ODI World Cup to cementing his place as India’s new No.3 in Tests to now taking charge as Gujarat Titans captain in the IPL, the 24-year-old has experienced a lot of highs and lows in a short timespan but it has only helped shape his character and personality as a player.
With India’s squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup set to be picked in a few days, Gill has presented a strong case for himself with 304 runs in nine innings, including two half-centuries, at the top of the order for GT. It’s natural for a player to think in that direction and complicate matters but for Gill it hasn’t been that “difficult” as he continues to focus on scoring runs and winning.
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In an exclusive conversation with the Network18 Group, the elegant right-hander opens up on his captaincy stint, the challenging last six-eight months, T20 World Cup selection and more.
It has been a mixed season for you as Gujarat Titans captain. So how do you reflect on the season gone by and what do you look forward to as captain and as a player?
As a captain, and as a player, I think now we are approaching the business end of the tournament and I think as a team we are in a very balanced shape. We are much more composed in comparison to what we were in the beginning of the IPL and I think the way that we’ve been playing cricket in the past couple of matches has been very pleasing to see and I’m very happy with that.
Just looking back at the last 6-8 months, you had a bout with dengue during the World Cup, had to make a name for yourself at the No.3 position in Tests and now, ahead of the T20 World Cup, you were given the charge of GT. When you look back, how has the ride been across formats?
Yeah, definitely. It’s been very interesting these past 6 to 8 months. But I think it’s definitely helped me shape my personality and my character as a player. Because you know it requires a certain will and character to be able to, you know, overcome those and keep doing and keep enjoying the things that you want to do.
I’ve seen a lot of your net sessions and they are clearly not short. You love to bat for hours in the nets, even on the eve of the match. How easy or difficult has been to juggle batting and captaincy?
I honestly only think about my batting when I’m batting. And when I’m not batting, I don’t really think about my batting. As far as captaincy is concerned, I think captaincy happens on the ground most of the time and as a captain, my job before the match or on non-match days is to be able to make my players feel as secure as possible, make them feel secure in their plans, give them the confidence that they would be able to execute those plans when the pressure is on them. That is what my job is as the captain.
Shubman, you have played under different captains, and been around different captains. MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli Rohit Sharma… you have seen all three of them. So as a captain, what would you like to pick from them? Something which they did with you around as a youngster.
Yeah, definitely all of them have their qualities which made them a great leader. There were so many qualities of Mahi bhai, Virat bhai and Rohit bhai which I picked from them. You know recognising the quality is one thing and to be able to apply them is something different. So that’s the challenge… to be able to, you know, get those qualities from these great leaders and to be able to apply them.
You discuss a lot of cricket and batting with your father. He was cheering from the stands when you scored that hundred vs England in the Dharamsala Test. So is captaincy the new point of discussion in the Gill household now?
I have not discussed captaincy even once with my father. My father shaped me into who I am as a batter but when it comes to captaincy, it’s something that even he hasn’t brought up with me yet. So yeah, no discussions… that’s not something we discuss.
Lastly, how difficult has this period been specifically, if at all, because you know there’s a World Cup in the offing? I am sure it naturally tends to play on your mind so how do you juggle the different roles you are performing right now and also keep the personal ambition and goal of playing for the country in a World Cup in mind?
Honestly, it’s not that difficult. You keep scoring, you keep winning. Everything will take care of itself.