The young Indian opener Shubman Gill has explained that his batting mantra ahead of the New Zealand tour, emphasizing the importance of playing a lesser number of dot balls by relying more on running 1s, 2s, and 3s. Gill said that he has very fond memories of playing in the country as he made his ODI debut in 2019 and won the U-19 World Cup in 2016 in New Zealand.
During chat with the broadcaster ahead of the abandoned opening T20I, as per the quotes in India Today, Shubman Gill said, “I came here for the U19 World Cup. I made my ODI debut here in 2019. Good to comeback (to New Zealand), feels good. Definitely, I have fond memories of coming back to NZ.”
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He further added, “Whenever I know I’ll be going to NZ it brings a smile. I have been able to execute a few things I have been practicing (about his success in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy).”
While Shubman Gill has been a regular in India’s Test squad, he has yet to make his T20I debut and is on the outskirts of the ODI squad. In the absence of first-choice top-order batters Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli, Gill opened the batting with Shikhar Dhawan in seven of nine ODI games this year against the West Indies, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. According to Shubman Gill, hitting sixes is not about power but it’s about timing.
Elaborating the same, Shubman Gill said, “I have always felt hitting sixes is not about power, it’s about timing. If I am getting that right, I know I can hit sixes. It’s always about me looking to score than looking for four or six. I want to play fewer dot balls, I want to keep ticking, ones, twos etc. It’s more about you being able to wait and swing in the line of the ball rather than swinging hard at the ball.”
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Meanwhile, incessant rain in Wellington has delayed the start of the first T20I of the three-match series between India and New Zealand at the Sky Stadium on Friday (November 18), eventually the game got abandoned.
