Shubman Gill, appointed captain of India for the upcoming five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe, confirmed that he will open with his Punjab teammate Abhishek Sharma in the opening pair for this weekend's series opener at Harare Sports Club, with Ruturaj Gaikwad coming out to bat at number three.
The T20Is against Zimbabwe will mark the beginning of a new phase for the current world champions in the T20 format, as it marks their first step towards the next T20 World Cup, due to be hosted by India and Sri Lanka in 2026.
Abhishek will open with me, and Ruturaj will play at number three. Rohit bhai and Virat bhai had opened in the World Cup, and I also open the batting in T20s. So, I think I would like to open in the T20s," Gill said in a pre-match press conference.
So, Gill and Abhishek, who is set to make their international debuts for India, are socially charged with making up for the void created by the T20I retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli respectively following India's recent triumph in the T20 World Cup at Barbados.
"I think there is always pressure and expectations. But what I think Virat bhai and Rohit bhai have achieved, if I go to reach that thing, then it will be very difficult for me. Every player has his own goal, like where he wants to reach." Says Gill about the expectations he has to deal with.
"So there is a lot of pressure. If you want to go to that point where other people have reached, then you have more pressure in your head. But what they have achieved or what they have done for India, there is no pressure in that thing because they are both idols and legends of Indian cricket", added Gill.
On the goals of the side ahead of Zimbabwe, Gill reflected on the need to do well as a team under pressure: "There's always pressure to perform in every match or tournament. Our goal is fairly clear as a team, and there's pressure to bring it out."
The other new faces inducted into the T20I squad, apart from Abhishek, are Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Tushar Deshpande, B. Sai Sudarshan, and Harshit Rana for the first two matches. VVS Laxman, the head of the National Cricket Academy, will be the coach.
"There is always pressure whenever you play because there is pressure for you to perform in every match or tournament that you play. So I don't think there is any pressure in terms of this being the match of a new cycle. But yes, in terms of wanting to do well as a team, that is the pressure there for us."
Looking forward to the task ahead in Harare, he acknowledged the conditions and the spirit of the Zimbabwean team under Sikandar Raza. "I think Zimbabwe have got a good T20 team.". "Even the last time when we played in the ODIs, the last one day that we played went on to be quite a close one for us, and we know that it's going to be no different. The way Zimbabwe guys are going to come against us is going to be no different than any other nation, and that's the challenge for us," he added.
This series will be the first time that Gill will lead the Indian team as captain at the international level. With the experience of the recently concluded leadership of the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2024, he feels his own potential for leadership is going to play a big role in maneuvering the team through the series.
"I learned a lot of lessons when I captained my IPL team for the first time.". I got to learn a lot more things about myself and a lot more things about the leadership perspective. Most of the challenges you face as a captain, I feel, are more mental -- how you prepare the boys -- because everyone's got the skill set, he said. It's about how you can give them the confidence to be able to deliver that skill set on the field," he concluded.
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