India batsman Shubman Gill said making his Test debut in Australia felt like “going into a war” and an important lesson that he came back with was never to “rule someone out of a scenario”.

The 21-year-old was impressive during the tour, with a highest of 91 and another half-century to total 259 in the four-match series that an injury-ravaged India won 2-1. Gill made his debut in the second Test in Melbourne from where India’s turnaround started after the thrashing in the Adelaide Day-Night match.

“When I was a kid, I used to get up at 4.30-5am to watch Test matches in Australia. It was a different kind of fun to watch Brett Lee bowl or Sachin (Tendulkar) sir bat. All of a sudden, I was playing in that team and Australians were bowling at me. It felt surreal that the world was watching me,” he told his IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders’ official website.

Before the game started, Gill said he was swept by emotions when head coach Ravi Shastri presented him with his Test cap.

“At times you go through a sea of emotions which just make you go numb. It was that kind of a moment. Ravi Shastri gave a speech in the huddle and then I received the cap from him. After that we won the toss and elected to field first. As long as the fielding lasted, I was pretty normal. But when we finally batted, and I was taking a walk down from the dressing room to the pitch, it was an experience of a kind! It felt like going into a war!”

According to Gill, his biggest lesson from the series was “you can’t rule someone out of a scenario”.

“We got all out for 36 and despite that not for once our players or our coach or our captain and even the support staff felt bogged down.

“As I had said before, if they want to play chin music, we have got all the dance moves ready!”