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Young, but not short on experience — that’s how Shubman Gill, who is all to play his third IPL season for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), can be best described.
And that is probably why the talented right-handed batsman has hinted that in all probability he will open the batting for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2020 which is slated to begin from September 19 in the UAE.
Gill, who had earlier opened the batting for KKR, said his role will be to guide the innings till the end and help big hitters like Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell bat around him.
“My role will be the same as what I did at the end of last season when I was opening. To guide the whole innings till the end. That would be my role if I open and neither will it change if I open with a conventional batsman or a [pinch-hitter like] Narine. I don’t think [being the senior opener] will really change my batting mindset,” Gill was quoted as saying to ESPNcricinfo.
Gill might have made his name as a No. 3 at the 2018 ICC Under-19 World Cup, where he was ‘Player of the Tournament’, and then for Punjab, but his brief experience of being a finisher for Knight Riders in 2018 and 2019 also taught him plenty.
“It was a game-changing experience for me because I’ve never batted that [low] down the order,” Gill added. “It really helped me grow as a batsman if I look at it that way because it helped me look at the game from different angles and understand different aspects of the game.”
Gill to take guard as ‘voice of people’
KKR head coach Brendon McCullum had recently revealed that Gill will be a part of the franchise’s leadership group this season. Reacting to the same, Gill said he will be the voice of the people.
“It feels good to be a part of the leadership group,” Gill added further. “Having said that, I think my responsibility would be to the voice of the people who have just come in. The youngsters who have just come in will be feeling shy and conservative. My responsibility would be to be their voice and to help them go about their things,” he concluded.
