I've not been up to my own expectations in Test Cricket: Shubman Gill

Amongst the many developmental arcs that Duleep Trophy 2024 garners, Shubman Gill's progression as a player in the red-ball format holds an important position. As the captain of the 'A' team, he's positioned as an important member of the senior men's Test team having taken over the No. 3 spot. His last Test series outing against England saw him battle some difficult moments before seemingly turning a corner with hard-fought knocks that fetched him a couple of hundreds and as many fifties.

Gill's Test record presents a middling outlook - an average of 35 over 25 Test matches which is well short of his First Class average that touches 50. Earmarked as one for the future, Gill's stop-start Test career has left even himself unsatisfied. "Yes, I've not been up to my own expectations ([n Test cricket]," he said on the eve of the Duleep Trophy opener in Bengaluru. "But we have ten Tests coming up together. Hopefully, after these ten Tests end, I'd be up to my expectations or more," he added.

Having started off as an opener in Test cricket, he earned the No. 3 spot which called for a slightly different approach which has since been a work in progress. Gill admits that the contrasting demands of white-ball cricket have played a part in the off-colour returns in Test cricket but has been working on improving it.

"I worked on my defence a little bit more especially against the spinners. Playing on turning tracks, you should be able to defend a lot more. Then you play scoring shots. With more T20 and playing on batting friendly tracks in the white ball, I feel it takes away a little from your defensive game over a period of time. So that was my focus during the England series," he admits.

India are set to play five Tests at home against Bangladesh and New Zealand before heading over to Australia to play five more and in a transitioning team, Gill leads the batch that is in the process of taking over from the older hands. He already occupies the spot that Cheteshwar Pujara made his own with glorious returns especially Down Under and subsequently has more to look into apart from his own game. The responsibilities of captaincy in a tournament like the Duleep Trophy which is peppered with India hopefuls all-around, he has his task cut out.

"Every match or every series you tend to learn more about yourself, whether you're the captain or not. You tend to learn certain things about yourself, your game," he said.

"More so if you're captain, you tend to learn about other players as well. Because it's important for the captain to have a connect with the players. If you want someone to give their 100 percent, you should have a connect with the players. You should know their weaknesses and strengths. In terms of that there has been some change, there has been a lot more conversations especially if you're the captain or vice-captain you have one-on-one conversations with the players.

"There's nothing easy or difficult. You'd have played a lot of age-group cricket with a lot of these player so there's a lot of fun. And if you're enjoying the captaincy role as well and to lead by performance as well. So if these things are in order, you'll be enjoying everything."