Shubman Gill, India’s vice-captain in white-ball formats, on Thursday praised new coach Gautam Gambhir for his clarity of thought as he looks to establish himself as an all-format player in the coming months. Gill will be Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy in the shortest format, while he will be Rohit Sharma’s second-in-command in the ODIs during India’s tour of Sri Lanka, starting with the first T20I in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, on Saturday. This is Gambhir’s debut as India coach after replacing Rahul Dravid, who stepped down following India’s T20 World Cup triumph in the Americas last month.
“We are the world champions and we will try to play accordingly and hopefully be more successful under the new coaching staff. This is the first time I have worked with him (Gambhir),” Gill told the media during a press meet in Pallekele, Sri Lanka.
“But during these two networking sessions, his intention and communication were very clear. He is very clear about which player he wants to work with at any given time and what areas he wants to work with him on,” he added.
While his ultimate aim is to bring more success to the team, Gill also wanted to firmly establish himself as an all-format batsman in all conditions.
Although Gill was a traveling substitute for the India team during the T20 World Cup, he was unable to find a place in the 15, and the right-hander identified this as the first point of correction.
“During the matches before the T20 World Cup, I wasn’t able to perform at the level I expected of myself.
“In the next cycle, where we will play 30-40 T20Is, I will try to improve my performance as a batsman,” he said.
But the 24-year-old has his sights set on the five-match Test tour to Australia later in the year and the subsequent Champions Trophy.
“We’re going to play about 10 (Test) matches before January and I’m looking forward to that, especially five of them in Australia. After that, we will play the Champions Trophy, which would be very exciting.
“But these six matches (3 T20Is and 3 ODIs against SL) are crucial for the Test matches,” he said.
So does being named vice-captain in the limited-overs formats add any additional pressure on him?
“It (the vice-captaincy) doesn’t change much. When I bat there, I still need to perform well and I need to win games for the team.
“But when you’re on the field, you have to make a little more decisions, and that’s the only difference,” he noted.
Gill said that Gambhir and Suryakumar’s thought process is quite similar in terms of their vision for the team.
“I think everyone is on the same page. I played with Surya bhai and I think the way they both (Gambhir and Suryakumar) communicate and think is similar.”
After Rohit’s retirement from T20Is, Gill will have a new opening partner in Yashasvi Jaiswal, and the vice-captain was confident that the alliance would work.
“We really enjoy batting with each other, especially the type of pitch we both play, we complement each other. And being the right-left combination…our partnership has been good in the matches we’ve played together.
“I think we have two 150-run partnerships. We have a very good understanding and communication between us and that is very pleasant,” she explained.
Gill also praised Abhishek Nayar, India’s newly appointed assistant coach, with whom he worked at Kolkata Knight Riders.
“He (Nayar) puts in a lot of effort on the ground. He stays with the players until they are satisfied with their own abilities. That’s his biggest positive point,” he added.
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