Duleep Trophy – Shubman Gill – Working on my defensive game helped me achieve exam success

“I’ve worked on my defense a bit, especially against the spinners,” said Gill at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, where his team will face India B in the Duleep Trophy. “Playing changing tracks, if you can’t be sure of what you’re protecting [then it disturbs your game]. If you play on a curved track, you should be able to protect a lot. [It is] and play shots to score goals.

“And with more T20 [cricket]and playing on, I wouldn’t say the tracks are flat, but [on] tracks ready to hit – [and] more on the white-ball [games] – I feel like it takes a little bit of your defensive game in the middle. So that was my focus for the England series. “

Although they face England, Gill has admitted that he is not yet a Test player, and he intends to make up for that. India play ten Tests over the next four months, starting with two against Bangladesh from September 19.

“Yes, definitely, I have not reached my expectations,” he said. “But we have ten Test matches in front of us in a row. So I hope that after these ten Test matches, I will be able to fulfill my expectations.”

Gill: As captain, ‘you have to understand your players more’

Gill said he never felt “more pressure” to be part of India’s leadership team, as more work required him to know more about his colleagues.

In the past few months, Gill has had many leadership opportunities. That run started when he captained Gujarat Titans in the IPL after Hardik Pandya returned to Mumbai Indians. Gill then led India in five T20Is against Zimbabwe, after Rohit Sharma retired from the format and several other senior players were rested.

“My role as a hitter doesn’t really change,” Gill said. “Even if I am captain or vice-captain, the aim is to get runs and make my team win, [and] donate in any way possible.

“If you are a captain or vice-captain, you should be able to understand your players more than if you are just a player. Sometimes it happens that you play with many players. [these] players since childhood. He has played a lot of age group cricket [together]. So, obviously, you’re already connected, so it’s more fun to play with them.

“And if you enjoy your role as captain, it is very important to lead by playing well. So if you get all these things, then you enjoy everything.”