It is necessary to access conditions as an opener – Shubman Gill

India’s talented opener Shubman Gill feels accessing conditions will be the key to success in the English conditions.

Gill had a good start to his Test career as he scored 259 runs in three Test matches against Australia, including a match-winning knock of 91 runs in the historic Gabba Test match.

However, Gill couldn’t deliver in the four-match Test series against England in the home conditions. The right-hander could only score 119 runs in four Test matches at a paltry average of 19.83. Thus, the 21-year old youngster will be determined to turn the tables on the England tour.

Gill feels it will be pivotal to play out sessions in England and bat according to the weather conditions.

“As an opener, not just in England but everywhere, you need to know how to play out sessions. Playing sessions is very important. It has been seen in England that whenever it is cloudy, the ball swings a lot. When there is sun, the pitch becomes good for batting. It is necessary to assess conditions as an opener,” said Gill while speaking to India TV.

Gill added that he will take the confidence from the Australia tour where the performance of the whole team was very good.

“Our performance in Australia was very good. Over the last few years, we have been doing very well on away tours, so our confidence is very high. I think we can’t be better prepared for the World Test Championship (WTC) final than this,” added Gill.

Gill feels facing the likes of Lockie Fergusson and Pat Cummins in Kolkata Knight Riders practice sessions has also added to his confidence and has helped him prepare well.

“It helps a lot when you play good bowlers in nets and play them for a long period of time. Your confidence is very high. Like in our KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders) team, we had good bowlers like Ferguson and Cummins,” he said further.

“Definitely, you get high on confidence. When you go out and play a match, you know what they’ll bowl. Those things matter.”

Gill will look to be at his best against New Zealand in the WTC final and the five Test matches against England.