Gill aims to improve T20I numbers after World Cup snub
A lot has changed in Indian cricket over the last month. The men's team regained T20 World Cup glory after a long gap of 17 years and it was followed by one of the most dynamic coaching appointments in the country's cricketing history. The tour of Sri Lanka marks a new era for India under Gautam Gambhir's coaching but it is also a fresh start in terms of the side's leadership group. While Hardik Pandya was touted to take over the leadership duties post Rohit Sharma's exit, Suryakumar Yadav emerged as the surprise choice for T20I leadership with Shubman Gill another unexpected pick as the deputy for both white-ball formats.
Gill's appointment, while surprising, does come on the back of his recent stint as stand-in captain during India's tour of Zimbabwe where he led a largely fringe squad in the shortest format. While it is the season of change in Indian cricket, Gill maintained that the basics have continued to remain the same despite the change in personnel in the coaching staff.
"Communication has been the same like it used to be," said Gill at the press conference prior to the start of the T20I series.
"We're the World Champions and it is about doing more of the same. Hopefully we get more success with the new coach and support staff"
While Gill has a common IPL connection in the form of KKR with his new coach Gambhir, the duo never coexisted in the same timeline at the franchise. While Gambhir left the Knight Riders prior to the 2018 season, Gill got drafted into the side that year and stayed till 2021 before moving to Gujarat Titans. Meanwhile, Gambhir marked his return to KKR ahead of the 2024 season in which the franchise went on to become champions.
It's still early days for Gill and co under Gambhir's guidance but the young opener spoke positively about his new coach. "We have only had two net sessions with him (Gambhir). This is my first time working with him. His intent and communication has been clear so far, he knows what he wants from each player.
"I think the line of thinking and mindset (of Suryakumar and Gambhir) are on the same page. I had played under Surya Bhai in South Africa too. Their understanding is similar and I think you'll get to see the effects on the field as well."
Gill also had huge praise for assistant coach Abhishek Nayar, another personality with whom he shares a KKR connection, albeit a strong one. Nayar has been the batting coach for the franchise for a long time now and Gill felt that the veteran's dedication to the job is what makes him stand apart from the rest.
"He (Nayar) is very hard working and stays on the ground for long hours till the players are satisfied with their own progress. I think that is his biggest positive."
The last 12-18 months have been a roller-coaster ride for Gill in the shortest format of the game. The 24-year-old topped the run charts in the 2023 IPL season, tallying a whopping 890 runs at an average of 59 and strike rate close to 158. However, Gill's performances in T20Is weren't as consistent although he did conjure up a ton and a fifty in 14 games prior to the World Cup. Ultimately, he couldn't make it to the World Cup squad and the Punjab batter chose to look at that as a learning experience.
"Speaking of the World Cup selection, I think my performances in T20I prior to that weren't as good as I had expected from myself. But going forward, we'll playing about 30-40 games in this cycle and the focus will be to perform better as a batter."
While Gill's captaincy in the Zimbabwe series came in for praise, his batting evoked divided reactions. He did manage to score two half-centuries but the strike rate remained considerably lower than that of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Gill, though, had mentioned the intense competition as a healthy sign for the team. Now, with vice captaincy also under his belt across the white-ball formats, the weight of expectations are bound to increase for the right-hander.
"As a batsman, it doesn't change much. When I'm batting out there, I still need to perform and win matches for my team and my country. That doesn't change. But when you are on the field, you have to make a few more decisions than as a player, so I think that's the main difference."
It is a given that Gill's opening partner for the T20Is will be Jaiswal with whom he shares a commendable record as an opening pair. In the eight games that they have opened together, the pair amassed two century stands and a fifty partnership, putting them fourth already in the list of India's most successful opening pairs in the shortest format. Gill felt that the key to their success was in the way in which they have gelled together.
"We really enjoy batting with each other. The kind of shots we both play, we compliment each other. Also being a rightie-leftie partnership (really helps). We've had many good partnerships in the limited games that we have opened together. We have a lot of clarity and understanding between us, and it is a lot of fun."