Though many consider Shubman Gill to be the future of Indian batting, he was not really in the fray for a berth in India’s World Cup squad and didn’t make the chosen XV either.
But the youngster, representing the Kolkata Knight Riders, knows he has time on his side and is ready to wait for his turn.
“This year’s World Cup is not the last World Cup in cricket. I think you just can’t keep chasing the same thing all the time. If you are in the right direction, you will get your results.
“For me, it’s really important to play my game and be in the right direction. With that, I believe, other things will follow,” the 19-year-old told kkr.in.
Shubman, who was a member of India’s U-19 World Cup-winning team, has played two ODIs so far, both against New Zealand, but could only score a total of 16 runs.
Speaking on his experience in New Zealand, Shubman said: “Overall, it was a very good experience. Many said that I didn’t perform as expected. But the truth is you don’t always have a fairy-tale start.
“You might fail, there will be new challenges and you’ll learn from them. So, I don’t regret that I didn’t score in those two matches. I may have scored in those two and failed later.
“I am more motivated now to perform when the next opportunity comes. I try to take the positives from all these. I played top Indian bowlers at nets and interacted with support staff. It helped me understand the game a lot more and all in all, it was a great experience.”
When India captain Virat Kohli praised him saying he was not even 10 per cent of what Shubman was at 19, the Punjab batsman took it as a motivation. “I was surprised myself that he said so. I found that out later and it was very kind of him to say that.
“It was very motivating for me to find out that I am on the right track, especially if it’s coming from a player of his stature. I just want to continue playing like this.”
Shubman believes in working hard and said that he dislikes missing practice. “I have been practising quite a lot for a very long time now. And I feel incomplete if I miss out even for a day.
“I am used to that since my childhood days and have been batting for three-four hours regularly. If I bat for just an hour or less, I feel quite incomplete. So, I look for the opportunity and practice till I can.”
Even if he has to come lower down the order and face lesser number of balls, Shubman feels that one can’t ignore practice.
“To face those six-odd balls, you have to face at least 100 balls at nets. If you practise less, you’ll lack confidence even to hit four out of those six balls. The mentality shouldn’t be to practise less just because you are going to face lesser number of balls… One must utilise the net sessions.”
