'Physically fine, but sometimes there is mental fatigue': Shubman Gill

New Delhi: Since the Border-Gavaskar Trophy from November last year, Shubman Gill (in pic), the new superstar of Indian cricket, has played quite literally non-stop, missing just one series.

After the five Tests against Australia that concluded in January, the 26-year-old took part in a three-match ODI series at home against England in February, then immediately flew out to Dubai for the Champions Trophy and returned home to lead Gujarat Titans in the IPL without a break. He then boarded the flight to England to lead India in a gruelling five-Test series, which was followed by the Asia Cup in the UAE, where he was named Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy.

Before he could even catch a breath, Gill returned home for the ongoing two-Test series against the West Indies, and within days of this rubber finishing, the Punjabi heads to Australia, where he will lead in a three-match ODI series as the new captain. That will be followed by a 5-match T20I series. Next on the agenda is the full-fledged series against South Africa at home — two Tests, three ODIs and 5T20Is starting November 14 — where, as the captain in two formats and deputy in the shortest one, he’s expected to play all of it.

Once the South Africa assignment gets done on December 19, he’s certain to feature in three ODIs and five T20Is against New Zealand at home beginning January 11. That will be followed by the T20 World Cup at home and Sri Lanka. Add the responsibility of leadership, and it’s physically, mentally and emotionally taxing. Gill, who has missed just the T20I series against England in January because he was not in the scheme of things then, admitted the schedule is mentally taxing but is ready for the challenge. 

“I think physically most of the time I feel fine, but sometimes there is mental fatigue because when you are constantly playing, there is obviously a certain expectation that I have for myself, and to be able to keep up with my own expectations sometimes becomes a challenge. That’s the challenge to be able to play all the formats for India. I want to play all the formats. I want to succeed in all the formats for the country, win all the ICC titles. If I want to do that, this is the challenge I have to go through,” said Gill in a press conference here on Thursday.

Speaking to the media for the first time since his elevation as ODI skipper, Gill said his goal is to take Indian cricket to greater heights.  “It was announced in the middle of a Test match, but I got to know little before that. It’s a big responsibility and an even bigger honour. So, I’m very excited to lead my country in that format, and yes, the last few months have been very exciting for me, but I’m really looking forward to, you know, what the future has. I want to stay as present as possible and don’t really want to look back on what I’ve been able to achieve or what we, as a team, have been able to achieve. Win everything we have.”

Gill said his team is guarded against complacency in the second and final Test against the West Indies starting Friday. “I don’t think your intensity drops down depending on the opposition. It doesn’t matter who we are playing, whether West Indies, Bangladesh, Australia, or England. We want to be able to play at our own intensity, and we want to win.”