Shumba Gill has been named as the new vice-captain of the team for India’s tour of Sri Lanka in T20Is and ODIs. The selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar has named Suryakumar Yadav as India’s new captain for T20Is and Gill as his deputy.
Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar explained the reason for Gill’s promotion as vice-captain. He recently led the Indian team to a T20I series win in Zimbabwe. Both of them unanimously agreed that Gill’s potential as a future captain will be channelled with his appointment as India’s vice-captain.
It was Gill who addressed the pre-match press conference ahead of the first T20I against Sri Lanka to be played at Pallekele on Saturday.
He opened up about the communication between him, Gautam Gambhir, and the support staff as he looked forward to his new role. He said that his aim is to take Indian cricket to greater heights and also spoke about Hardik Pandya’s change of vice-captaincy.
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“Communication has been the same as it used to be,” Gill said at the press conference ahead of the start of the T20I series.
“We are world champions and it’s about doing more of the same. Hopefully we can achieve more success with the new coach and support team,” he added.
He also spoke about his first interaction with Gautam Gambhir at the net session. Gambhir, who is known for making KKR players play an aggressive style of cricket in IPL 2024, is looking to set the same model with the Indian team.
“This is the first time I’m working with him (Gambhir) but during those two net sessions, his intention and communication has been very clear. He is very clear about which player he wants to work with at a particular time and in which areas he wants to work with him,” Gill said during a press conference on Thursday.
Gill also spoke about his performance in T20Is. He was part of the reserves but did not get a chance to play any match in the 2024 T20 World Cup as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli opened for India. With both of them retired from T20I cricket, this gives Gill a chance to stamp his authority in the format and cement his place in the Indian T20I team.
Shubman Gill looks to improve his numbers in T20I
“My performance in T20Is before the World Cup this year was not as expected. I hope that in the future, in the next cycle, I will play 30-40 T20Is.” [before the next T20 World Cup] – I can improve my performance in terms of batting, and also [we can improve] As a team,” he said.
He also spoke about the captain-coach combination of Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir. Gambhir has often said that as a captain, he was unable to get the best out of SKY while at KKR. This could have been one of the reasons that influenced Skuya being named the next captain of the team in the T20Is.
“I think the line of thinking and mentality (of Suryakumar and Gambhir) are on the same page. I also played with Surya Bhai in South Africa. Their mindset is similar and I think you will be able to see the effects on the field as well.I” Gill said.
Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal are likely to open the T2 match against Sri Lanka. The T20Is will be played at Pallekele on July 27, 28 and 30. The ODIs will be played at Colombo on August 2, 4 and 7.
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