1st Test: Don't want to win in 2-3 days, plan is to play hard, grinding cricket, says Gill

Ahmedabad, Oct 2 (IANS) With India opening its home Test season, skipper Shubman Gill said his team is focused on playing ‘hard, grinding cricket’ rather than chasing quick wins coming in two-three days.

The ongoing series against the West Indies, currently underway at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, is also Gill’s first assignment as India’s Test captain at home in the new World Test Championship cycle.

“The plan is simple—hard, grinding cricket. We don’t want to win in 2–3 days. We know we have the best four spinners—Kuldeep, Jadeja, Axar and Washi. Any team coming to India knows two challenges: spin and reverse swing. We’ll test opposition in both areas, but our focus is good cricket. We talk more about winning every series than WTC. But yes, if such a strong team doesn’t qualify, it would be disappointing,” said Gill on JioHotstar.

Asked about his approach to adjusting to surfaces in Tests from England to now at home, Gill said, “It’s been a long time we’ve been playing on turners. Obviously, other teams also know what we are good at and what we need to work on. On such wickets, if a spinner bowls at 90–95 kph consistently, any batsman in the world will struggle. New Zealand had an advantage because they had played turners in Sri Lanka before coming here. We hadn’t.”

The 2025 season has been a breakthrough year for Gill – after being named India’s Test captain post Rohit Sharma’s retirement, he finished the five-match tour of England with 754 runs, the second-highest run tally for a captain in a Test series, including hitting four centuries at an average of 75.4.

Recalling his lack of runs outside India in Tests, Gill spoke about how he brought about a change in his batting approach, including taking advice from Sachin Tendulkar and Steve Smith. “I definitely had pressure of not having a great record overseas. But the way I prepared, I was confident. Even though a day, a week or an hour before the match it would play on my mind, but once you’re on the ground, all of that fades out. You just focus on what you have to do at that moment.

“I spoke to a lot of people who’ve scored runs in England. Everyone said one thing in common - plenty of runs will come square of the wicket. But it got complicated because we thought square runs meant playing outside balls. Then we decided - leave the outside ball. So I simplified it. I said, I won’t drive early. I’ll just defend on the front foot and leave.

“After 30–40 balls, the Dukes ball softens. Run-scoring becomes easier. Outfield is fast, timing the ball gives you boundaries. So, in the beginning, unless it was a half-volley, I avoided cover drives. Only straight drive, flick, cut, punch—no cover drive until I was completely confident the ball had stopped swinging or seaming.

“Before leaving, I spoke to Sachin sir. I also took Steve Smith’s number from Matthew Wade and spoke to him. Both said the same thing—defend straight, score square. I think so this is one of the best years, but I hope 2026 and 2027 will be even better. As a player, you always keep hoping the next year and the year after are better,” he concluded.

--IANS

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