Yuvraj prepared me for Australia's 'chin music': Shubman Gill
Young Indian opener Shubman Gill made his mark in the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar series that India won 2-1. He credited the Indian legend Yuvraj Singh for helping him bolster his batting skills to prepare for the gruelling tour Down Under. In a recent conversation with TOI, Gill opened up on the camp he was involved in, along with Yuvraj. Here is more.
Gill emerged as the find of the series
Young Gill turned out to be Team India's find of the series. He was handed his debut in the Boxing Day Test after his compatriot Prithvi Shaw got dropped due to poor technique. On the contrary, Gill's technique in each of the three Tests completely stood out. He also shared a couple of 50+ partnerships with Rohit Sharma in the drawn SCG Test.
The camp with Yuvraj was very useful: Gill
Speaking on the same, Gill described how Yuvraj primed him for the tour. "The camp with Yuvi paaji before the IPL was very useful. During that camp, he prepared me to face the chin music. He used to throw hundreds of short-pitch balls to me from different angles, and I think it helped me a lot," Gill said.
The flamboyance of young Gill
Rightly so, Gill portrayed the kind of flamboyance Yuvraj did back in his days, especially with the back foot punches. Never for a moment, Gill was jeopardized with the vicious bouncers delivered by the likes of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.
A century would have been cherry on the cake: Gill
Although Gill's blistering 91 laid the foundation of India's victory in Brisbane, he fell short of a maiden ton. "A century could have been cherry on the cake. I was set and I should have scored the century, but at the same time, I am happy that I have contributed to the victory. This series was a big learning curve for me, he concluded.
Gill gears up for the England Test series
After a successful Australian tour, Gill will now shift his focus toward the upcoming Test series against England. His front foot technique will now be tested against the likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Nevertheless, the budding opener would want to make the most of the batting-friendly tracks in the Chennai and Ahmedabad. Notably, this will be his first-ever international series at home.
