On Wednesday, the 23-year-old silenced all his detractors by scoring his maiden T20I century and converting it into the highest individual score by an Indian batter in T20Is. Batting at a ridiculous strike rate of 200, Gill blasted 126 off just 63 balls to help the Men in Blue win the three-match series after trailing 1-0.
Gill has established himself as an important member of India’s batting lineup in all three formats of the game. While other senior players frequently rest between series, the youngster has played the most matches in the team in the last two months.
During the post-game press conference, Gill was asked how he dealt with the hectic schedule and if he ever considered taking a break from the game to recharge his batteries.
The Punjab-born cricketer responded in a way that demonstrated how much he enjoyed playing for his country. He stated that there is no such thing as fatigue when representing your country.
The youngster went on to say that playing for India had always been his dream, and that he was fortunate to be living it.
I don’t believe there is any fatigue when you represent your country. It was my dream to play for India, and I consider myself extremely fortunate to be a member of the team in all three formats. It’s a good thing. I don’t think there is fatigue, Gill said after receiving his Player of the Match award in the post-match presentation.
It feels good to practice and see it pay off. I was betting on myself to win big. It didn’t happen in the Sri Lanka series, but it’s great to see it working out now. Everyone has a different method for hitting sixes. Hardik bhai told me to play my game and not do anything extra, and he kept backing me, he explained when asked what aided him in producing such a memorable knock.
Gill clearly has his priorities straight. He wants to play as many matches as possible while the seniors are taking breaks every alternate series. Perhaps veterans like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma can learn from their younger teammates and play with more zeal for their country.
With his current form, Gill has made it extremely difficult for the management to leave him out of India’s playing XI in all formats.
KL In the longest format, Rahul and Rohit Sharma have been India’s first-choice openers, and it will be interesting to see how Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma manage Gill in the upcoming Test series against Australia.
