“I’ve not been up to my own expectations in Test cricket” – Shubman Gill opens up on his red-ball form

Indian batter Shubman Gill admitted he has not met his own expectations in Test cricket and he is determined to turn the tables. Gill is leading Team A in the ongoing Duleep trophy clash against Team B.

Gill scored 452 runs in five Test matches against England at an average of 56.50 and finished as the second-highest run-getter of the series after Yashasvi Jaiswal.

The young right-hander has scored 1492 runs in 25 Test matches at an average of 35.52, including four centuries.

Speaking to reporters ahead of Duleep’s trophy opener, Gill said, “Yes, I’ve not been up to my own expectations ([n Test cricket]. But we have ten Tests coming up together. Hopefully, after these ten Tests end, I’d be up to my expectations or more.”

Gill added he has worked on his defense while playing against the spinners.

“I worked on my defence a little bit more especially against the spinners. Playing on turning tracks, you should be able to defend a lot more. Then you play scoring shots. With more T20 and playing on batting friendly tracks in the white ball, I feel it takes away a little from your defensive game over a period of time. So that was my focus during the England series,” added Gill.

Meanwhile, Gill has been appointed as India’s vice-captain in the white-ball formats. The talented batter said one learns about himself after playing a particular series or match.

“Every match or every series you tend to learn more about yourself, whether you’re the captain or not. You tend to learn certain things about yourself, your game. More so if you’re captain, you tend to learn about other players as well. Because it’s important for the captain to have a connect with the players,” said Gill.

“If you want someone to give their 100 percent, you should have a connect with the players. You should know their weaknesses and strengths. In terms of that there has been some change, there has been a lot more conversations especially if you’re the captain or vice-captain you have one-on-one conversations with the players. There’s nothing easy or difficult. You’d have played a lot of age-group cricket with a lot of these player so there’s a lot of fun.”

Gill will look to come up with a consistent performance in the Duleep trophy.