XtraTime Web Desk – India’s tour of Australia gave us tons of historic moments. In that fire of a rise, it was Shubman Gill, on his debut tour, who rose from the ashes and played a crucial part in taking India across the line.
In a recent interview released by the Kolkata Knight Riders, the cricketing prodigy can be seen talking about his journey from the time he first picked up his bat
Talking about his earliest memory, Shubman said, “I picked up a bat for the first time when I was around 3 year old.” He also mentioned that due to the heaviness of the bats, “My Grandfather used a certain kind of light wood available in Punjab to make a small bag for me” and the rest is history in the making.
Citing his motivation and hardwork during his younger years, he said, “I liked working hard when it came to batting. For me, it was more of an escape from school homework”.
Shubman faced a lot of short balls during his time at Australia. Talking about facing short balls in general, the youngster said, “When you get hit by a ball, your fear disappears. You’re only scared until you get a blow but once you get hit, you feel like it’s pretty normal and then you lose the fear entirely”. Gill added, “When I was young, I used to be petrified by the bouncers. I used to get prepared for the chest height balls way in advance. I used to practice drives a lot so I got mature in playing the pull shot with a straight bat”.
Speaking about his memory from the auction day, Gill said, “Nagarkoti, Abhisekh and myself were near a kindergarten when the auction was going on. We went to check but by then the auction was over. Three of us were very happy post that”. Gill also recalled his KKR days saying, “I think my journey has been way better than I expected. I never expected this much of love, attention and information from coaches. It was such a good opportunity for us to have a quality practice as you don’t get this when you’re back home. You hardly get variety of quality bowlers (in domestic circuit).
KKR’s present coach, Brendon McCullam used to be a dynamic batsman. Speaking about his coach, Gill said, “One thing I would really be excited to learn from Brendon is his mindset. The one he used to carry in every match. He used to be so freewheeling with his batting. He used to create a sense of terror in opposition’s mind. Brendon had such a strong aura and I want to know his preparation off the field and how is brain used to function that could put any team under pressure”.
Courtesy – www.kkr.in