India’s “Next big thing” Shubman Gill opens up on the poor form against West Indies
Shubman Gill, considered to be India’s “next batting superstar,” struggled to get off to a strong start in the T20I series against the West Indies, putting on average performances with the bat as the visitors lost two of those three games.
However, Gill finally rose to the occasion in the fourth T20I, played in Florida, where he orchestrated a 165-run partnership with Yashasvi Jaiswal for the first wicket. Gill explained that he couldn’t convert his counts when asked about his bad performances in the first three matches, but the cause wasn’t due to “making mistakes.”
India’s “Next big thing” Shubman Gill opens up on the poor form against West Indies in a banter with Arshdeep Singh
After the fourth T20I ended, Gill told his teammate Arshdeep Singh that he needed to focus on the fundamentals of the game because the first three T20Is had been difficult for him to score in.
“In the first three matches, I could not even score 10, today (the) wicket was a bit better, so wanted to capitalise. Then when I got a good start, we just wanted to finish it,” Gill said in a chat with Arshdeep.
“T20 format is like that. When you have 3-4 matches where a good shot is caught by the fielder, and you are eyeing quick runs, you don’t have time to think much…
“It’s important to go to your basics. You just look at what your template was when you were consistently scoring runs.
“You have to identify whether you are making any mistake. I felt I wasn’t making a mistake in any of the three matches. But I couldn’t convert my starts,” he added.
With nine wickets in hand, India chased down the 179 runs set by the West Indies in 17 overs thanks in large part to Gill’s 47-ball 77. The match’s opening batter wanted to go out unblemished, but Romario Shepherd eventually got the better of him in the 16th over. When Tilak Varma took his place in the middle, he continued to play flawlessly as he and Yashasvi Jaiswal led the team over the finish line.
With the series now level 2-2, the final match will be the decider, on Sunday.
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