‘Still learning’, says all-format Shubman Gill

KOLKATA: Shubman Gill is currently one of the few cricketers in the world who continues to play in all formats. How does he handle it? “I am still trying to figure out what is the best way to manage it,” the India captain said on the eve of the first Test against South Africa here on Thursday.

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“It’s not easy,” he added with a note of caution. “Different formats in different places of the world have their own requirements, which is challenging. We have been playing almost back-toback since the Asia Cup, travelling to different countries, changing formats with a turnaround time of four or five days. Obviously, there will be a bit of jet lag, which makes it somewhat challenging.”




The Indian Test and ODI captain is only 26, but eventually he too will need some amount of workload management.

However, Gill is quick to clarify that physically he feels perfectly fine. “It is the mental thing that we need to manage. Coming here from Australia with a huge time difference means there was quite a bit of jet lag when we arrived. Playing white ball cricket in Australia and Test matches in India are entirely different. The body needs time to adjust.”

Even assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate spoke about the challenges being more mental than physical. “Shubman is doing a pretty good job at it, but it is definitely not easy,” he said on Wednesday.

Virat Kohli was one player who seamlessly transitioned from one format to another, and he did that for quite a long time, with little or no side effects, physical or mental. Gill is doing the same.

“I am still learning how to go about it,” Gill said.

“Having said that, professional cricketers know that these challenges will be thrown at them and they need to get used to that. In fact, your fitness is defined by how you tackle them. It’s a good challenge and a good learning curve for me.”

Axar Patel is another player who plays in all the formats, although he does not carry as much weight of expectations on his shoulders as Gill does. Add to that, the stress of captaincy.

There’s plenty on the plate for the 26-year-old.

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