Shubman Gill said, “Lost A Few Kilos, Hopefully I Will Gain That Back.”

Shubman Gill, an Indian batter, has had a roller-coaster of a fifteen-day period. He has experienced it everything, from missing India’s first two games of the 2023 World Cup due to dengue to making a return for the intense match against Pakistan.

The 24-year-old was “disappointed” to miss the early action due to illness since he had been riding a purple patch for the previous 12 months. It was a “nice” sensation for Gill to get his first ODI World Cup fifty during the match against Bangladesh after being back on the field and in the middle of the runs.

“Clearly felt good. It was wonderful to get some game time even though I was a little sorry to have missed those chances when I was unwell, admits Gill in the post-game press conference.

The weight reduction was immediately noticeable as soon as he entered the press conference room; he seemed weaker than usual. Gill also credits his mental readiness to take action again for helping him over the last 15 days.

“I believe that in order to go outside, one must have the mental fortitude to do so. I gained some weight back, but I also lost a few kg in the process, adds Gill.

However, the fact that he has lost weight has hardly affected how he moves or bats as he continues to perform well. The right-hander seemed to be in excellent form throughout the game against Pakistan but was unlucky to be removed for 16. He made the most of his strong start against Bangladesh, registered a very impressive half-century, and easily dispatched two smashes over the ropes as well.

The right-hander would have loved ball-watching from the opposite end in both games since his comeback as Rohit Sharma has continued to bat well. Gill had nothing but appreciation for his captain and praised him for making things simpler for the other batters.

“Rohit has been batting really well and has been unrelentingly aggressive, particularly when pursuing. And I believe that’s putting us in the right direction. And when the run rate in the chase is around four or five, it becomes simpler for the batsmen who are coming in,” explains Gill.

Gill has got the opportunity to bat alongside India’s great batsmen in a World Cup match with Rohit in the two games and now with Virat Kohli in Pune, and the kid wants to continue learning from them.

I usually try to see how they conduct themselves during the World Cup and important games in order to learn from them. Particularly when playing large-scale games, I believe there is a tight line between being sometimes overly aggressive and withdrawing. But I believe that their style of play and approach during those pivotal World Cup games is what I strive to learn from them, says Gill.

Hitting and gill!

Gill hasn’t missed a chance to bat since getting back into position. The young player took a flight from Chennai to Ahmedabad, where he played his first net session the day after arrival and another hour-long hit the night before the match against Pakistan. After arriving in Pune, the whole team got a day off, but on October 17, everyone was back in training. No prizes for figuring out who entered first and had the longest hit that night beneath the lights.

In between his two hits, Gill engaged in several fielding exercises. His hitting sessions were split into two. Before the pads were put back on for another round of hitting, there was a lot of close-range catching practice followed by routine throw exercises. On that breezy evening, there were a lot of people there since it was anticipated that they would forgo the optional practice before the game.

Unlike Gill, most.

Since he went out for a net on October 18 as well and had a long hit with his buddy Ishan Kishan on the next net, the phrase “optional training” does not appear in his vocabulary. Gill faced Ravindra Jadeja, a number of net bowlers, and much of side-arm action while batting for over an hour in the merciless afternoon heat.

Gill would now want to see him play for hours while maintaining his upward momentum after regaining his previous level of fitness.