Aged 20, young India batsman Shubman Gill still has his best years ahead of him. But the added weight of expectations from one’s fans and teammates can sometimes have an adverse effect on a player’s game. Rohit Sharma recently replied to a birthday wish from Gill by writing “Thanks Future” but the latter insists that he just feels good to be complimented.
In an interview with IANS, Gill talked about handling these expectations, his interactions with captain Virat Kohli and the ongoing lockdown in the country.
“Yes, it always feels good when someone like Rohit Sharma says that. I don’t feel any added pressure because that’s how I am. I don’t feel any pressure when one compliments me or if someone is critical,” he said.
While talking about Kohli, Gill is of the view that India are blessed to have a captain like him ho backs the players to put their 100 percent on the field without feeling any pressure.
“Yes, it’s definitely an advantage when your captain wants you to go all-in and there is no pressure. You won’t feel that there is one percent of your game that would be left when you are on the field so it’s always good for the young players when the captain backs you.
“I have interacted with him a couple of times. He just tells me to keep doing stuff that I am already doing and to have consistency on the field. Consistency is an important factor.”
As cricket stands in suspension almost all over the world due to the coronavirus outbreak, Gill has been spending this free time to focus on his body and working on his game. However, like most of his fans, Gill too is missing the Indian Premier League badly.
“Yes, that’s one more reason I am looking forward to playing the IPL (lockdown and suspension of cricketing action). But I think this time all the players would be more motivated than ever because it was a long break and coming back from the break everyone would want to make an impression.
“Also, earlier when we used to come to the IPL, there was a lot of cricket going on before that. But this time, players would be fresh and keen to get on with it,” he pointed.
“This lockdown period has definitely been a bit unusual for any athlete. But the way I see it personally is, it is a very good opportunity for me to work on my body and to work on myself because when we are playing and we are in this season, we really don’t get that much time to work on our body so for me it was a very good time to work on myself,” he said.
“Yes, it kind of broke the whole rhythm but it’s going to be the same for everyone. Once cricket returns, we have to put twice as much time to get back to the whole rhythm. To get back the touch, it’s going to take some time,” Gill explained.
Whenever cricket returns to the field, Gill hopes to swiftly adapt to the rigours of the game but also knows that it’s all in the mind.
“We have to put in some quality time on the field, especially during the practice sessions and net sessions. Once that happens for me it’s always more of a mental thing than a physical thing because I think the body reacts to the brain and reacts to the way we are thinking,” he signed off.
