I want to succeed for India in all formats and win ICC titles: Gill

New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS) After the Tests against the West Indies to the end of the all-format series against South Africa, Shubman Gill will be constantly playing in all formats for India – either as the captain in Tests and ODIs or vice-captain in T20Is.

Once the series against West Indies is over, Gill will be hopping on a gruelling schedule – having just four days (or more, if the game finishes early in New Delhi), the right-handed batter will be on a travel grind that comes with hopping between cities and countries.

From October 15, when the Indian team leaves for white-ball tour of Australia to December 19, when the all-format series against South Africa is over, Gill will be constantly on the move. After leading India in the ODIs against Australia, Gill will be playing five T20Is in the country.

Once that is done, he will be back in India to lead in two Tests and three ODIs against South Africa, before the five-match T20I series against the same opposition comes. At 26, Gill is not just India’s newly appointed ODI captain and Test skipper on the rise - he’s also the only all-format specialist batter in the current setup.

One of the problems of seeing this schedule for the next six weeks on paper is the physical and mental toll it will take on Gill, and how can he avoid burnouts. But true to his determined style, Gill said he’s willing to go through this workload challenge in a bid to succeed in his aim of playing and succeeding in all formats for India and winning ICC titles.

“Physically, most of the time, I feel fine. But sometimes, yes, there is mental fatigue because when you are constantly playing, there is obviously a certain expectation that I have for myself. To be able to keep up with my own expectations sometimes becomes a challenge.

“But I think that's the challenge - to be able to play all the formats for India. I want to play all the formats and I want to succeed in all the formats for the country and win ICC titles. So if I want to do that, then this is the challenge that I have to go through,” said Gill in the pre-match press conference, ahead of the second Test against the West Indies, starting at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday.

Life since May has been on an upswing for Gill – being handed Test team’s captaincy was followed by shift to number four and 754 runs on the five-match tour of England, ending in a 2-2 draw. With the elevation to ODI captaincy and previous experience of being an IPL captain for Gujarat Titans, Gill stated he’s well aware of the nuances each format demands, especially when it comes to captaincy.

“I feel in Test matches, the better team does come on top at the end of the day, because you have got more chances and more opportunities to make a comeback. Whereas in T20, if you have 3-4 overs of bad period, there might be a case that you are completely taken away from the game.

“So it is different in that sense. When you are playing a Test match there, whenever a team wins a particular Test match, the team deserves to win it because they played better cricket not for 2-3 hours or not for one day, but consistently over a period of 3-4 or 5 days. So the challenge is to stay on top for 5 days in a Test match.

“That is more difficult than captaining in a T20 game. Whereas in a T20 game, you get off to a really good start, and then you maintain that. Then you are sort of able to be on top of the game for the entirety of the game. But in a Test match, you can be on top for 2 days. But if you don't turn up on day 3, the other team can make the comeback,” he elaborated.

Gill’s working relationship with head coach Gautam Gambhir has also been a focal point of the transition. The duo has been tasked with shaping the squad’s direction, especially with a shared keenness of grooming fast bowlers for future challenges.

“Our relation is really good. It's very simple actually. We always try to have conversations around how we can make the players feel more secure, and what kind of combinations that we can play. We sort of want to look at 15-18 member squad where we are constantly picking players from that bunch and squad.”

“One of the key things that we discuss is how we can build our fast bowlers. We have a pool of good fast bowlers and we want to be able to keep grooming them so that they get enough opportunities to come whenever we bowl.”

With India coming to this Test series against the West Indies, especially after playing a high-stakes tournaments like the Asia Cup, Gill insisted that the team’s intensity is non-negotiable, especially considering the ongoing series comes under the World Test Championship (WTC) purview.

“I don't think your intensity drops down depending on your position. It doesn't matter who we are playing. We want to be able to play at our own intensity. When you're playing for India, you don't need external motivation to be able to up your intensity. It doesn't matter if you're playing West Indies, Bangladesh, Australia or England. We want to be able to play at our own intensity and maintain our own standards,” he concluded.

--IANS

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