Young batsman Shubman Gill says sharing the dressing room with senior players, including skipper Virat Kohli, has helped him learn pace the innings. Gill, who has scored a bagful of runs in the domestic circuit, has been named in the squad for the two-Test series against Bangladesh.
“I get to learn a lot. When you share a dressing room with the big players, you look at how they prepare ahead of a match. Before going in to bat how they do they focus, what do they do (and) how they pace their innings in match situations,” Gill said at a promotional event in Mumbai.
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“Mentally, the big change is that I have to understand is the difference between the different levels of cricket,” Gill explained.
“Obviously, at the under-19 level and India ‘A’ level, you will still get a lot of loose balls. But at the international level, it gets tighter and that is when one needs greater focus. I also tell myself that I won’t be able to score as easily as I did at the under-19 level. That acceptance is important. After that, pacing the innings well once set is also an important learning. The game doesn’t need to change but the mind does.”
Gill, who has managed 16 runs in two ODIs he has played, was a part of India’s Test squad against South Africa as a reserve opener.
“I know that I can’t expect from myself that I will get a hundred every time I go out. I will get runs and will get to settle down. Obviously things take time. But it was a very good experience for me. We had won the series. And the wickets were tough to bat on. So I learnt to adapt in those conditions and absorb pressure.”
