Gill was the Player of the Series in the five-match ODI series in England.
“Haan sir, thoda sa jet lag hain,” Shubman Gill’s voice is raspy and there is a distinct quiver in his tone as he begins the telephonic conversation. Shubman is clearly feeling a severe jet lag. It’s been barely 24 hours since the 17-year-old has returned home in Mohali after spending close to a month in England as one of the key members of India’s U-19 squad. The teenager from Punjab’s Ferozpur district describes his first international sojourn as “deeply fulfilling.” The manner in which he strung together a series of match-winning knocks was instrumental in the colts completing a historic whitewash – thumping England 2-0 in Tests and then proceeding to clinch the one-day series 5-0.
It was in the shorter format that Shubman came into his own. Batting at No.3, he stacked up 278 runs from four games, which included a stunning 147. Such was his dominance that India’s next highest scorer – ODI captain Prithvi Shaw – could muster only 160 runs. Finishing as the highest run-getter in the series, the teen known for his sparkling stroke-play and an appetite for big scores, walked away with the Player of the Series award.
There’s something about England that brings out the best in Shubman. He had a dream series earlier this year when England toured India – amassing 351 runs from 4 innings. “Winning the Man of the Series award has boosted my confidence… this tour has really helped me as a player,” he adds. Shubman may have finished the England tour on a high, but barely two weeks into his first international assignment, he was nowhere close to his sprightly, effervescent self. Coming into the second innings of the final Test match at Worcester, Shubman has scores of 29,21 and 24. He was getting starts, but was somehow not being able to convert. WV Raman, the stand-in coach filling up for Rahul Dravid for this tour, understood the reasons for the youngster’s travails. His advice was simple – In England, wait for the ball and play as late as possible.
“Early in the Test series, I thought he was playing a touch too early. On docile tracks in India, you can get away by either committing too early or by hitting through the line. In England, where there is a bit more nip, you have to wait for that extra couple of seconds so that you can allow the ball to come to you,” Raman explains. As Shubman walked out to bat in the second innings in Worcester, the conditions were far from ideal – it was cloudy and windy and the England bowlers were getting ample bite from the surface. To make matters worse, there was intermittent rain, turning the day’s play into a stop-start affair. Raman’s brightest ward hung in, keen to make it count. “I had never played in such conditions before. It was cold and there was constant rain, which meant that as a batsman I always had to switch on and switch off,” Shubman explains. He would survive a testing passage of play and score a century – one that was bereft of his usual flamboyance. He terms his 102 in Worcester as one of his best knocks yet.
“He is a young guy and on his first trip to England… such issues are bound to crop up. I think, such tours are part of the learning curve,” Raman adds. India colts’ stand-in coach lavished praise on the Punjab batsman, calling him a player for the future. “He is a majestic player. He packs a punch in his shots, and has an appetite for big scores. The three innings in the Test series were just a minor blip, to be honest.”
Shubman admits that playing and constant travelling meant he had little time for either shopping or sightseeing in England. “We hardly got off days on the tour. During the odd day, we would be so tired that we preferred spending time in our hotel rooms in front of our Playstation consoles,” he explains. With the extremely productive England tour coming to an end, the youngster has now set his sights on the upcoming Ranji Trophy. “Playing the Ranji Trophy for Punjab is my dream. I played in the List A matches last year, so I’m hopeful of getting picked this season,” he offers.
Even if he is picked, Punjab will not be able to avail his services for the entire season. That’s because the U-19 squad will need him back at the top of the order when the Asia Cup begins in Kuala Lumpur in November. Shubman believes such tours are ideal preparatory ground for the U-19 World Cup in New Zealand. “I think such tournaments are scheduled for us to prepare for next year’s World Cup as these matches give us the experience on how to approach high pressure games,” he adds.
