Shubman Gill Praises Gautam Gambhir's Coaching Clarity Ahead Of Sri Lanka Tour

Shubman Gill, India's vice-captain in white-ball formats, praised new head coach Gautam Gambhir for his clear communication. Gill aims to establish himself as an all-format player in the coming months.

Gill will serve as the deputy to Suryakumar Yadav in T20Is and to Rohit Sharma in ODIs during India's tour of Sri Lanka, starting with the first T20I in Pallekele on July 27.

This tour marks Gambhir's debut as India coach after replacing Rahul Dravid, who stepped down following India's T20 World Cup win in America last month.

"We are the world champions and we will look to play accordingly, and, hopefully, we will have more success under the new coaching staff. This is the first time I am working with him (Gambhir)," Gill told the media during a press-meet here.

"But during those two net sessions, his intent and communication have been very clear. He is very clear about which player he wants to work with at a particular time and on which areas he wants to work with him," he added.

While aiming for team success, Gill also wants to establish himself as an all-format batsman across different conditions.

Though Gill was a travelling reserve during the T20 World Cup, he didn't make it into the final 15. He sees this as his first area for improvement.

"During the matches before the T20 World Cup, I could not perform to the level that I was expecting from myself. In the upcoming cycle where we will play 30-40 T20Is, I will try to improve my performance as a batsman," he said.

Upcoming Tours and Matches

The 24-year-old is particularly focused on the five-match Test tour to Australia later this year and the subsequent Champions Trophy.

"We are playing some 10 (Test) matches before January, and I am looking forward to it, especially five of them in Australia. After that we are playing the Champions Trophy which would be really exciting. But these six matches (3 T20Is and 3 ODIs against SL) are very crucial riding into the Test matches," he said.

Vice-Captaincy Responsibilities

When asked if being vice-captain adds pressure, Gill responded thoughtfully.

"It (vice-captaincy) doesn't change much. When I bat out there, I still need to perform and I need to win matches for the team. But when you are out on the field, you need to make a bit more decisions, and that's the only difference," he noted.

Team Dynamics

Gill mentioned that Gambhir's and Suryakumar's visions align well regarding team strategy.

"I think everybody is on the same page. I have played under Surya bhai, and I think both their (Gambhir and Suryakumar) way of communication and thinking is similar."

New Opening Partnership

With Rohit retiring from T20Is, Gill will open with Yashasvi Jaiswal. He expressed confidence in their partnership.

"We really enjoy batting with each other, especially the kind of shots that we both play; we complement each other. And being the right-left combination...our partnership has been good in the matches we have played together."

"I think we have two 150-run partnerships. We have a very good understanding and communication between us and that's very enjoyable," he explained.

Praise for Assistant Coach Nayar

Gill also commended Abhishek Nayar, India's newly-appointed assistant coach, highlighting their previous collaboration at Kolkata Knight Riders.

"He (Nayar) puts in a lot of effort on the ground. He stays with the players until they are satisfied with their own skills. It's his biggest plus point," he added.