“Not satisfied with my T20I performances”: Shubman Gill

Pallekele [Sri Lanka], July 26 (ANI): The newly-appointed India white-ball vice-captain, Shubman Gill, said that he is not satisfied with his performances in T20Is and looks to improve his numbers ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup taking place in India and Sri Lanka in 2026.

India’s tour of Sri Lanka begins with a T20I on Saturday and consists of three T20Is and three ODIs each. Gill will be the deputy to Suryakumar Yadav and Rohit Sharma in the short format and 50-overs, respectively.

Gill’s numbers in the T20Is–505 runs from 19 games at an average of 29.7 and a strike rate of 139.5–are yet to meet his own lofty standards. Though he has managed a century and three fifties, 12 other innings are all scores below 20, with 10 of them being single-digit scores.

The 24-year-old, fresh after being named the team’s vice-captain, is hoping to transfer his form in ODIs – he has 2271 runs from 44 matches at an average of 61.37 and a strike-rate of 103.46–to the shortest format of the game.

“At a personal level, I’m not satisfied with my performances in T20Is till the T20 World Cup [2024],” Gill said at the pre-match press conference ahead of the first T20I against Sri Lanka, as quoted by the ICC.

His contrasting starts to the two white-ball formats have reflected in how selectors have looked at the player in the respective formats. While the batter was a certainty to feature in the XI during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, he only made the reserves of India’s squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

But Gill is ready to address these concerns in the upcoming cycle. “It has not been up to my expectations,” he said. “Going forward, in the upcoming cycle, we have about 30-40 T20Is, and I would hope we improve on our performance as a team and I can improve as a player.”

Besides improving his batting, Gill said he was looking forward to the challenge of the vice-captaincy and expressed his belief that it would not hinder his on-field performance.

“My role does not change much as a batter. When I am a batter, I still need to perform and win matches for my country. But when you are on the field, you need to make more decisions compared to when you are playing as a player,” he added.

Gill was also confident of working well with India’s new T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav. “We think alike. I have played under Surya bhai’s captaincy in the South Africa tour,” he said.

“Our communication and understanding are alike. You can see this in the upcoming games,” he added.

With the retirements of legends Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from T20Is, Gill is set to open with Yashasvi Jaiswal, signalling a new era.

“We really enjoy batting with each other,” Gill said, when asked about his partnership with Jaiswal. “Our shots complement each other. A right-left combination helps. We have enjoyed our time together in T20I games. Our understanding and communication is pretty good.”