'I will score so much; they won't be able to drop me from next World Cups': India batsman was gutted after T20 WC snub
The 23-year-old India batter was upset after missing the T20 World Cup but has been in red-hot form ever since.
India endured another heartbreak at the recently-concluded T20 World Cup when they crashed out in the semifinal with a pretty severe hammering at the hands of England. The reasons are plenty – India were without two of their premier performers in Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja, not scoring enough runs in the Powerplay, lack in intent, muddled team selection etc. But while some players such as Yuzvendra Chahal did not get a single game, others were just plain unlucky to miss out on selection. Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Prasidh Krishna were some names whose omission was kind of frowned upon.
One more promising youngster who got shoved down in the pecking order was Shubman Gill. The 23-year-old India opener had set the West Indies and Zimbabwe series on fire, belting impressive scores but unfortunately got left behind with India already having Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul as openers. He even performed well in the IPL, scoring 483 runs for Gujarat Titans but was still ignored. The decision left Gill gutted, reveals his Punjab teammate Gurkeerat Mann.
"He was sad after that World Cup snub. But talents like Shubman try to find a way. His words were: 'I will score so much that they won't be able to drop me from the next world cups. From now onwards, I just want to perform in all formats and that is my only aim.' He is not someone who will shut himself down if runs are not coming. He continues to work hard," Mann told The Indian Express.
Gill was never considered a power-hitter, but the youngster has lately worked hard on that aspect of his batting as well. Strike-rates were never his thing, but Gill has clobbered runs at will and Mann couldn't be any prouder. Glimpses of Gill's newly-found ability was on display in the 1st Test against Bangladesh where he scored his maiden Test century for India. He was 17 off 53 balls before eventually finishing with 110 from 152.
"Earlier, he would hardly play any aerial strokes and would hit down the ground, pick gaps, and run hard between wickets. The new dimension he has added to his game is his six-hitting ability. And it has not come in a few days. I have seen him practising power-hitting right after his first IPL season. He used to hesitate while taking the aerial route, but now he smashes it with authority. That's the only change I have seen in his batting in recent times," Mann pointed out.
