Shubman Gill makes a big statement on fierce competition for opening spot, says, 'It's a good thing that everyone's...'

India wrapped the five-T20I series with a comprehensive 42-run win against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club on July 15. In the T20I series, India had four openers in the squad: skipper Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhishek Sharma and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Gill finished the series as the highest run-scorer but he had a strike rate of 125.93, lower than the other three contenders for the vacant spots after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's T20I retirement. Gill said that the competition is good for the team.
 

"It's a good thing that everyone's performing," Gill told the reporters after 4-1 series win. "It shows that everyone is hungry and nobody is ready to take it easy. For any country or board, that's always a good thing.
 

"Anyone who got the opportunity grabbed it with both hands. The openers to bowlers to allrounders to spinners, everyone made a mark and I think the selectors have now seen everything and it's up to them to name the squad for the next series (3T20Is, 3 ODIs in Sri Lanka)."
 

The other three openers' Jaiswal, Gaikwad and Abhishek's strike rate are 166, 158 and 175 respectively. Gill made a Jaiswal who joined the team for the final three T20Is scored 141 runs including an unbeaten 93 in the fourth T20I.

Batting in powerplay was challenging

Gill said that the wickets were a little challenging in the powerplay overs and he wanted to keep wickets in hand to go after bowlers later in the innings.
 

"The wickets were a little challenging for the first 5-6 overs and the ball always did something in the powerplay, so we tried to lose a few wickets upfront and then capitalise later," the 24-year-old justified his approach.

 

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Gill on his captaincy and losing first match of series

Gill also talked about his captaincy and presented himself as a strong contender for the role ahead of T20I series against Sri Lanka. 
 

"One thing about captaincy I feel is how much confidence you can show in your players. I try to do that and make them believe that if you try and execute the plans, the results will always follow," Gill who led Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 said.

 

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He admitted that the team was under pressure after losing the low-scoring first encounter. He also talked about the packed schedule leaving little time for players to rest.
 

"After losing the first match, we were under a bit of pressure. It's not easy to play back to back games and the series was planned in a way that there were two back-to-back games, a couple of days rest and then again back-to-back games. It's never easy playing a series like that but I think the way we came back after losing the first T20I was really remarkable.

 

"I think going 1-0 down in the series and then the way we came back was truly remarkable. Seeing everyone hungry and so quickly adapting to the situation and assessing the conditions was truly spectacular to watch," he added.
 

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