Shubman Gill, the opening batsman for India on their ODI tour of the West Indies, has so far played two solid innings, scoring 64 in the first game and 43 in the second. Every time Gill has been at the crease, he has exuded an equal amount of assurance, confidence, and fluency.
When Ishan Kishan or Ruturaj Gaikwad were being discussed as the series' replacement for stand-in skipper Shikhar Dhawan, Gill was a surprising choice. However, he has been able to repay the team management's faith in him, which has in turn increased his confidence in the 50-over format.
"My level of confidence in my batting is pretty high. We weren't able to prepare much after the Test series (in England) because both of our practise sessions here were cancelled, but once I started to play in the ODIs, I started to feel extremely good about my game."
"They (the two ODI innings) were a great boost to confidence. We posted two excellent totals against the strong West Indies team, one while batting first and the other while chasing. They have greatly increased my confidence, and I am hopeful that I will do well in the third game. I've been getting starts in the 40s to 50s, and I'll try to turn those into big innings "Before the third ODI, Gill stated.
Although Gill has been performing well on the tour, both of his knocks held great potential but fell short. In the opening ODI, he was caught short of the crease by a careless run. In the second ODI, Gill unexpectedly went for a scoop but ended up returning a catch to the bowler.
"It gave me a lot of confidence and helped me start my batting. I received support from the think tank to launch, and I was glad to repay their confidence in me. I appreciated that they gave me the chance to start. I got off to a strong start and kept going, but I was disappointed that I was unable to convert it to 100, which made me mad at how I had exited."
Gill acknowledged that Queen's Park Oval's circumstances, where 300+ runs have been recorded in both innings, have aided him in performing at his peak. "Here, the surfaces have worked nicely for me. For the quick bowlers, there hasn't been much lateral movement, and the new ball has been developing nicely. As the ball ages, scoring has become more difficult. Even though it has been a little stop-start, I have had a great experience hitting here altogether."
Gill concluded by describing how batting coach Vikram Rathour and head coach Rahul Dravid have been assisting him in becoming better throughout practise sessions. "I play batting with both of them a lot. Vikram sir provides feedback on my approach and the places I can improve to make it stronger. Rahul Sir counsels me on how to handle the circumstances and shares his knowledge with me because he has played extensively all around the world. Though our talks with one other are a little different, we still converse for the same amount of time."