Team India registered a 4-1 series win in Harare against Zimbabwe. After losing the first game, they bounced back brilliantly. The series saw the veteran players’ absence as it took place soon after India’s T20 World Cup win and Shubman Gill led the team as well. Notably, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja have announced retirement from the T20 game as well.

The series also witnessed the debut of youngsters like Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, and Tushar Deshpande as well. Moreover, Ruturaj Gaikwad, who didn’t get an opportunity to open the innings, did well in the middle -order a swell.

“Truly remarkable. It’s a good thing that everyone’s performing,” Shubman Gill said of the four opening batters in the squad. “It shows that everyone is hungry and nobody is ready to take it easy. For any country or board, that’s always a good thing. Anyone who got the opportunity grabbed it with both hands. The openers to bowlers to allrounders to spinners, everyone made a mark and I think the selectors have now seen everything and it’s up to them to name the squad for the next series (3T20Is, 3 ODIs in Sri Lanka).”

However, Gill opened for India in the series. While Gill’s strike-rate was the least when compared to the three other potential opening batters in the squad – Jaiswal (166), Gaikwad (158) and Abhishek (175) – the India captain opined on the tacky pitches upfront and the need to play a certain way to set the game up for those who follow as well.

“The wickets were a little challenging for the first 5-6 overs and the ball always did something in the powerplay, so we tried to lose a few wickets upfront and then capitalize later,” Gill explained. He also opined on the captaincy. “One thing about captaincy I feel is how much confidence you can show in your players. I try to do that and make them believe that if you try and execute the plans, the results will always follow.”

“After losing the first match, we were under a bit of pressure. It’s not easy to play back to back games and the series was planned in a way that there were two back-to-back games, a couple of days rest and then again back-to-back games. It’s never easy playing a series like that but I think the way we came back after losing the first T20I was really remarkable. I think going 1-0 down in the series and then the way we came back was truly remarkable. Seeing everyone hungry and so quickly adapting to the situation and assessing the conditions was truly spectacular to watch,” Shubman Gill concluded.