No. 3’s a charm: Gill carrying weight of own expectations

Ranchi, February 21

Shubman Gill had twin challenges to tame when he entered the Test series against England — a barren run that gripped him for nine innings, which was made grimmer when he dropped down to bat at the No. 3 slot.

Three Tests into the ongoing five-match rubber, Gill has managed to find some answers, scoring 252 runs at an average of 42 with a match-winning 104 at Visakhapatnam and a classy 91 at Rajkot.

For Gill, it was all about coping with expectations he had placed on himself, rather than making any sweeping technical changes to his batting. “It is a bit tough (living up to his own expectations). When people from outside talk about all those things, it did not make much difference to me. But the expectations that I kept on myself made me a bit disappointed,” Gill said.

However, Gill has learned to adjust to the expectations.

“You will definitely have some expectations on you as to how you want to play for the team, the country. But I don’t think that has changed my mindset. I still have the same set of expectations for myself. It is all about how you are able to forget them and move on quickly and be ready for the next challenge. That is the difference between a big player and an average player,” he said.

The 24-year-old could not score a fifty in 11 continuous innings, including the Hyderabad Test against England, once he shifted from the opening position to No. 3.

The rut set in during India’s tour to the West Indies last year and he finally broke it against England at Visakhapatnam.

Gill said batting at No. 3 presented him with a different task even though he had batted in that slot in domestic matches earlier. “I have batted at No. 3 and No. 4 for India A and in some Ranji Trophy matches, and as such, it was not something that I have never done in my life. There are not many technical changes that I had to make to my game. But it is different when you open the innings because you don’t get that much time to think as you are going right in after the toss. You are the one who is setting the tone,” he said.