Shubman Gill, KKR opener threw light on his form in IPL 2020 besides all-rounder Andre Russell’s inability to perform up to expectations. He also commented that the wickets are offering more to pacers and batsmen.
Rohit Sharma, India’s limited-overs vice-captain calls Shubman Gill the ‘future’ while skipper Virat Kohli has asked him to maintain the consistency levels as he looks forward to making a mark and even the legendary Sachin Tendulkar was impressed by a few shots played by the KKR right-handed batsman during his knock against Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2020.
Shubman Gill (Image Credit: BCCI/IPL)
Shubman Gill: The More Time You Spend On Wicket, The More You Will Get Runs
Speaking to ANI, Shubman Gill threw light on his consistent form in IPL 2020, the wickets on offer in UAE and Andre Russell warming up for a blast at the business end of the tournament, the youngsters in the franchise, and most importantly how KKR have been playing quality cricket and will only look to get better as the second part of IPL begins.
Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, And Dinesh Karthik
While Shubman Gill showed his brilliance during an unbeaten knock of 70 against Rajasthan Royals, the young opener has failed to convert starts into big scores. But the batsman is confident that it will take some time before he converts the starts into solid knocks as he has been hitting the ball well in the middle of the bat.
“Yeah, I mean that is what I believe in that when you are batting well, runs are just a matter of time. By time what I mean is that the more time you spend on the wicket, you will get the runs,” he said.
Although Shubman Gill is only 21, he is no longer considered a youngster in the KKR unit. Having performed consistently in the last couple of seasons, he is seen as an integral part of KKR’s leadership group.
But this season has seen quite a few young cricketers doing well like pacers Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, and opening batsman Rahul Tripathi. Shubman Gill says it is quite an experience playing with such talent.
“It feels great honestly because to be there on the field with them is quite an experience for all of us and it creates a very good atmosphere on the field as well and that is very exciting to see,” he said.
Shubman Gill has so far scored 163 runs in 5 matches averaging 40.75.
Shubman Gill: Main Part Of IPL Is Yet To Come And Andre Russell May Save His Best For The Last
While some of the youngsters have performed extraordinarily well, powerhouse muscleman Andre Russell is yet to fire with the bat. The match-winning all-rounder has managed just 50 runs from his five innings at a strike-rate of 135.13. But Shubman Gill looks at the positive side and commented that the important stage of IPL is yet to come and he is only warming up.
“He didn’t do well as per his expectations. I think it is good for us in the way that the main part of the tournament is yet to come and as they say, save the best for the last,” Gill pointed.
Andre Russell. Image Credit: Twitter.
The wickets in UAE have looked quite good for not just the batsmen, but also the pacers. Experts thought that the pitches would offer more support for spinners especially in the first half, but pacers have dominated more.
“It was expected that they (the curators) would start with green tops and then eventually it would become slower,” he said.
Kolkata are placed fourth with three wins and two losses in the middle half of IPL.
Asked about the team’s performance so far, Shubman Gill said that apart from the first game where the boys looked rusty, it has been good.
“I think we are playing great cricket. Apart from the first game, we lost where we looked a bit rusty as we were all playing our first match after such a long time. Except for that game, we have been playing some really good cricket.” he signed off.
