NZ vs IND 2022: I am not looking so far ahead – Shubman Gill

Indian opener Shubman Gill has revealed he wants to take one game at a time. Gill scored a fine knock of 50 runs off 65 balls in the first ODI against New Zealand. The youngster then scored an unbeaten knock of 45 runs before rain spoilsport in the second ODI at Seddon Park, Hamilton on Sunday.

Gill, who is opening in the absence of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, understands that he is going to get limited opportunities but he wants to make them count by getting a big score.

The Punjab batter has scored four half-centuries and a ton in 14 innings – averaging 61.27 in the 50-overs format in the absence of full-time captain Rohit Sharma.

“I’m not looking so far ahead, I’m trying to make the most of the opportunity I get, score big and make some big contributions for the team.

“Even in the last game, the way I was playing, the intention was to play a long innings. Even in the team meetings, the talk was about batting long, about the set batter ensuring that he finishes the innings. It also makes it easier for the other batters to come in and score.”

The ongoing tour of New Zealand has been hampered by rain and Gill revealed that it was quite frustrating in the second ODI when he had to keep going in and coming out because of rain interruptions.

“It’s slightly frustrating,” Gill said. “When the overs were getting reduced, it got quite irritating to be constantly going in and out of the field, unsure how many overs would we get to play. It made our planning difficult.”

Gill backed the idea of having rooftops in cricket to keep the weather out of the equation.

“It is one decision that has to be taken by the boards,” he said, before adding.

“As a player and as fans, it’s very irritating to go in and out, and having so many games getting affected by rain. I don’t know how I can make a difference or take a stand for it, it’s a big decision. Playing indoors would be a bit difficult, but having closed roofs would be good.”
The third ODI between New Zealand and India takes place on Wednesday.