Image Courtesy- Times of India
Young opener Shubman Gill has revealed some funny stories about his on-field chats with his fellows Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal.
Indian opener recalled how both openers helped him in the initial days to overcome pressure. Both experienced openers gave him the benefit of a junior member of the team as they told him that they will take a strike on the first ball in his maiden Test series against Australia.
Shubman Gill also recalled his mistake in the second Test against England, where he asked for the strike and got out for a three-ball duck. Shubman Gill speaking on The Grade Cricketer’s YouTube channel recalled “Never! (if he will ever take the strike on the first ball) I remember in my debut innings that Mayank was kind enough to say ‘Okay, I know you are under pressure so I will take the strike’ and he took the strike in both innings. And then in the next match, I was supposed to take the strike but Mayank didn’t play, Rohit bhai played (chuckles). Rohit himself said: ‘I know you are a youngster, so I will take the strike.’ From there on, he took the strike every game until that match against England. I don’t know why I told him that I will take the strike and obviously, that didn’t work for me, I got out on the 3rd or 4th ball on a duck. But yes, that won’t happen again anytime soon.”
🚨 Interview with Shubman Gill 🚨
One of the chief architects of the Asian Century, @RealShubmanGill, joins us to talk the Gabba, Dad, Dada, dressing room alphas, avoiding the first rock, Rahane, and Virat.
To get around it, head to TGC on YouTube: https://t.co/3R8Wh1EbAl pic.twitter.com/5eAzltFkTx
— The Grade Cricketer (@gradecricketer) June 13, 2021
When asked answering to question, how long before the game he and Rohit Sharma would decide who takes the strike, Gill replied it happens anytime. He quoted “Honestly, it can happen anytime. Like once, I remember we were almost in the middle, we were tapping our bats and I asked Rohit ‘Can you please take the strike?’. Because Mitch [Mitchell Starc] was going on his run-up and I was trying to search the non-striker’s end (laughs).”
Currently, The 21-year-old opening batsman is part of the Indian squad for the WTC Final and tour to England, On Saturday, he was seen playing intra-squad practice match simulation ahead of extravaganza.