World Cup 2023: That has been what I have been striving for – Shubman Gill wants to be consistent and finish games for team

Indian opener Shubman Gill has been in prolific form in 2023 but just before the start of the ongoing World Cup, the right-hander had dengue. Gill, who has been at the top of the world in ODI cricket, had to miss the two opening games against Australia and Afghanistan.

The youngster revealed it was a tough phase for him as he lost six kilograms because of the illness. Gill has scored 95 runs in three matches at an average of 31.66 and a strike rate of 97.93. In fact, Gill has played second fiddle to skipper Rohit Sharma, who has taken the attack to the opposition from the get-go.

“I don’t know where I got my dengue. In the second practice match against the Netherlands in Trivandrum, that’s where I started getting the symptoms. It was very frustrating for me, especially because it was my first World Cup. I was looking very forward to it. The hardest aspect for me was weight loss. I lost about six kilograms,” Shubman Gill said while speaking to the ICC.

Meanwhile, Gill has been making the most of his starts and has looked in decent touch. However, he has been batting at a different level in 2023 as he has timed the ball sweetly.

Gill is the leading run-getter of 2023 as he has scored 1325 runs in 24 ODI matches at an average of 66.25 and a strike rate of 104.49, including six fifties and five centuries.

Gill wants to be as consistent as he can be at the top of the order and finish games for India like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have done over the years.

“When you know that you are getting the runs, you want to finish the job for your team. You want to be able to be there for as long as possible and score as much as possible. That has been what I have been striving for. Playing for your country is a motivation in itself, and to be able to win and perform every game and to be able to have that motivation and hunger in you is a bit challenging at times. But to be able to be as consistent as you can be is the real challenge.”

India has been put into England at Lucknow on Sunday.