Shubman Gill looking forward to intimidating Aussie challenge

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Cricket365
December 15, 2020

Up and coming India batsman Shubman Gill admitted that playing against Australia can be intimidating but he is looking forward to fronting up.

Tour of firsts for Shubman Gill

It won’t just be Australia’s lightning quick fast bowlers he will be dealing with either, Gill will be playing in his first-ever pink-ball, day-night Test match.

“We practised quite a bit with the pink ball in the lead up to the Test match against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens last year (in November),” Gill told kkr.in.

“But I haven’t played any competitive first-class match under lights (till before the ongoing practice match vs Australia A in Sydney).”

Gill admitted to feeling a bit intimidated by the prospect of taking on one of the best cricket sides in the world, especially on their home soil that heavily favours quick bowling.

“It is quite intimidating to play Australia in Australia, but I am really looking forward to it. As a batsman, there is no bigger opportunity than to play against Australia at their home as your confidence gets a major boost if you manage to score runs here.”

Changing gears

The young batsman believes India’s shift in strategy to be more aggressive in Test cricket has given them an edge, especially when it comes to sledging.

“There was a time when (Indian) players had a reputation of not being too aggressive, and people would take that for granted when sledging,” he explained.

“Things have changed now. Every character is different, some people like to keep quiet and not react while for others, engaging in a verbal-battle eggs them on to do better.

“For me, I’m neither the kind to always keep quiet nor the type to keep going at the opposition. But if the plan is to make us dance to their chin music, be rest assured we’ve got plenty of great moves in store,” Gill said.