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Kohli in the making : Gill to stick to his natural game
His strokes bear a striking resemblance to Virat Kohli but Shubman Gill's approach to cricket is influenced by Rahul Dravid, who has asked the youngster to stick to his natural game come what may.
New Delhi : His strokes bear a striking resemblance to Virat Kohli but Shubman Gill's approach to cricket is influenced by Rahul Dravid, who has asked the youngster to stick to his natural game come what may.
Just two weeks shy of his 20th birthday, Gill is making waves despite having played just two ODIs with former captain Sourav Ganguly among those left surprised by his omission from the senior team's ongoing tour of the West Indies.
The youngster spoke to PTI about handling the limelight, the comparisons, "that cover drive" where he looks like Kohli and pro-tips from the likes of Dravid and Yuvraj Singh in dealing with the hype surrounding him.
"Rahul sir has been my coach since the India U-19 days and then India A. There is one basic advice from him which I always keep in mind. He would tell me that come what may, never change your basic game that got you success," said Gill, who became the youngest Indian to score a first-class double hundred earlier this month.
"I would certainly rate my double hundred against the West Indies A as one of my best knocks in red ball (cricket) considering the opposition, surface and match situation," Gill said.
Gill also top-scored for India A in the unofficial one-day series against the same opposition, accumulating 218 runs, including three half-centuries. But what happens if the natural game doesn't deliver the desired results sometime?
"He (Dravid) said that if we want to get technically more solid, all the adjustments that we make should be within the confines of our basic game," elaborated the right-hander, who won the BCCI's Best Junior Cricketer award for consecutive years in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
"Rahul sir told me that if I change my game, it won't be natural anymore and may not provide success. His focus has always been on the mental make-up while we face the challenge posed by the best," the Punjab lad said.
The front-foot cover drives off spinners by Gill seem like a carbon copy of a Kohli stroke -- minimal backlift and lot of wrists involved. The affable youngster said the stroke "came naturally to him". "...because I have an attacking game against the spinners.
Since childhood, I have practised a lot against spin bowling. So while playing on turners, I developed this particular stroke," said Gill. His net practice involves a lot of match-simulation both in red and white ball situations.
"While I love stepping out to spinners as that's my game, I have a back and across trigger when I am facing the quick bowlers. With the South Africa A series coming up, I am focusing a lot on leaving deliveries," he revealed.
