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Xtra Time Web Desk: India opener Shubman Gill said key for batting well in England will be to assess the conditions. The young batsman will be entrusted with the responsibilities to open the batting for India with Rohit Sharma in the upcoming tour to England. India plays six Test matches in England — the World Test Championship (WTC) final in June followed by five Tests against England in August-September. 

“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 opener,” said Gill while speaking to India TV.

The 21-year-old, who made his Test debut in Australia five months back and has played seven Test matches till date, scoring 378 runs, added that India’s performance in Australia where they won the Test series 2-1 will add to confidence. 

“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.

Facing world’s best bowlers at nets at his Indian Premier League franchise has added to his confidence. “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.

Gill at the moment is quarantining with other members of the test squad that will travel to UK. The Indian cricketers will depart for London on June 2 where they will undergo further 10 days quarantine in Hilton hotel in Southampton. But the good thing for them is they will be allowed to train after the first three days of hard quarantine.

With Inputs from IANS