‘It receives very frustrating’: Shubman Gill coming to terms with the captaincy challenge

Shubman Gill (AFP Photo)

“The spinners bowled 50-60 overs on the trot for three days. In terms of effort, I would say 10 out of 10 for the effort and the intent. “We’ve got bowlers that can make up 20 wickets. As long as we keep putting 350-400 runs consistently on the board, we’ll always be in the game and looking at our batting performances, it’s very pleasing to see that we are doing that,” said Gill.

the trophy secured, and his undefeated run as captain checked off crucial boxes, India left behind crucial WTC points needed to boost their win percentage Although the series was won. A lot of learning, so many things won’t always go as you plan, but as long as we still have a chance to qualify for the World Test Championship,” added Gill.

TimesofIndia.com in Colombo: In his first press conference of the tour, Shubman Gill termed qualifying for the World Test Championship as the “ultimate goal,” a sentiment he maintained while preparing to leave the country. In between his two media interactions, the Indian captain saw his team register a comprehensive win in Galle and then settle for a draw in a fixture they were well positioned to win in Colombo. Fielding for three days is not an easy task in these conditions with the heat.

Highlighting the volume of overs the spinners bowled on a surface which became easier to bat as the game progressed, Gill gave them 10/10 for effort and intent, and continued to focus on the ultimate goal – the World Test Championship.

“It gets very frustrating,” he said regarding the challenges, explaining the questions that follow. “We tried all that we could, and at the end of the day, even from the players, you can expect them giving their 100%, their top efforts, and I don’t think there was any lacking in intensity or the efforts that we put in,” said Gill. As captain, he had his most challenging few days under the sun in Colombo when Sonal Dinusha and the Sri Lanka’s tail frustrated the visitors and prevented them from getting the result they desperately wanted. There were moments he would helplessly stand and observe from the short-cover position, have an intense chat with head coach Gautam Gambhir when nothing worked and then even egg his teammates on when their shoulders started dropping. “Was follow-on the best decision, was it not? But then you have to go back in the moment and see, what can I do? Did I make the best decision in that moment? Yes, I did. Then you can’t do anything about it. You have to keep trying your best, and I think we did that,” added the Indian captain.