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Gill opined that despite being handed the responsibility of serving as the deputy of the team, when he walks out to bat there is nothing other than the bat and the ball in his mind.
Shubman Gill. (Picture Credit: PTI)
India take on arch-rivals Pakistan in their second ICC Champions Trophy 2025 encounter on Sunday at the Dubai International Stadium in the marquee fixture of the group stages.
Team India vice-captain Shubman Gill, who has been in fine touch, came up with a match-winning ton in the opener against Bangladesh as he stood unbeaten at 101 to help the men in blue get over the line with 6 wickets to spare.
The 25-year-old revealed that he has been handed the responsibility of interacting with the bowlers by skipper Rohit Sharma while on the field.
“Whenever I am on the field, whenever we are out there, I try and talk to the bowlers. It’s not easy for them in this heat to think right,” the batter from Fazilka said.
“Rohit bhai has given me the responsibility to talk to the bowlers whenever I am standing in mid-on and mid-off. I want to make sure the bowling plans are followed and I try to keep talking to the bowlers,” he added.
However, despite being handed the responsibility of serving as the deputy, Gill opined that when he walks out to bat there is nothing other than the bat and the ball in his mind.
“While batting, I don’t think about the responsibility. Whenever I am batting, I want to think as a batter and do the best for my team,” Gill stated.
Pakistan have had a sketchy start to the tournament as they went down to New Zealand at Karachi in the curtain-raiser of the event, but Gill stated that it would only prove detrimental for the men in blue if they were to take their opponents lightly.
“It’s a big match, but the biggest match is the final that the team plays. We have been playing good cricket. By no means, we are going to take them as a lesser side,” the 25-year-old said.
“It’s important for us to stay switched on and bring our A–game tomorrow,” he added.
