Star Indian opening batter Shubman Gill is not satisfied with his batting performances in the 19 T20Is played so far and is looking to come up with an improved show in the upcoming three-match series against Sri Lanka. Speaking to reporters during the pre-match press conference on Thursday (July 25) ahead of the first T20I between India and Sri Lanka in Pallekele, the 24-year-old batter said he is ready to address the concerns around his batting.
“At a personal level, I’m not satisfied with my performances in T20Is till the T20 World Cup (2024). It hasn’t been up to my expectations. But hopefully, going forward, in the upcoming cycle, we’ve got about 30-40 T20Is (before T20 World Cup 2026), and I’d hope we improve on our performance as a team and I can improve as a player.”
After Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s retirement from T20Is last month, Gill is now all set to open for India in the upcoming three T20Is against Sri Lanka with Yashasvi Jaiswal.
“We really enjoy batting with each other. Especially the kind of shots we play, we kind of complement each other,” Gill said of his partnership with Jaiswal. “Being a right-left combination, we have had good partnerships in whatever T20Is we have played before; two partnerships have been 150-plus. So, we have a great understanding and communication between us, and I have fun batting with him.”
Unlike Gill, Jaiswal was a member of India’s T20 World Cup 2024 winning team, but the 22-year-old batter didn’t get a chance to play in any of the eight matches for India.
Gill, who was India’s captain during a five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe earlier this month, is named as India’s vice captain for the upcoming white-ball tour of Sri Lanka. The youngster said he is looking forward to the challenge of vice captaincy and expressed his belief that the extra responsibility wouldn’t hinder his on-field performance.
“(His role) doesn’t change much as a batter. When I’m a batter, I still need to perform and win matches for my country. But when you are on the field, you need to make more decisions compared to when you’re playing as a player.”
