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India’s vice-captain for both the ODI and T20 formats, Shubman Gill, has stated that he wants to get better in the shorter format as the team starts preparing to defend its T20 World Cup title in 2026.
“My performance in T20Is before the World Cup this year wasn’t how I had expected it to be,” Gill said ahead of the series opener against Sri Lanka in Pallekele. “Hopefully, going forward, in the upcoming cycle – I think we play 30-40 T20Is [before the next T20 World Cup] – I can improve my performance when it comes to batting, and also [we can improve] as a team.”
Gill was not included in the team that won the T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and the West Indies, where India’s starting lineup included Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. India’s first choice at the top of the order is currently Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was the backup opener during the World Cup, as both experienced batters have already retired from T20Is.
“We really enjoy batting with each other. Especially the kind of shots we play, we kind of complement each other,” Gill said of his partnership with Jaiswal. “Being a right-left combination, we have had good partnerships in whatever T20Is we have played before; two partnerships have been 150-plus [too]. So we have a great understanding and communication between us, and I have fun batting with him.”
Following the conclusion of the T20 World Cup 2024, Gill and Jaiswal formed a few significant partnerships in the T20Is in Zimbabwe. In five innings, Gill, the interim captain for India throughout that series, amassed the highest score of 170 runs at a strike rate of 125.92. He was then named vice-captain for the Sri Lankan limited-overs series, having been picked ahead of Zimbabwean century-scorer Abhishek Sharma and fellow opening contender Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Gautam Gambhir, who took over for Rahul Dravid as India’s coach after the team won the T20 World Cup, is also coaching his country for the first time during this series in Sri Lanka.
“We have had just two net sessions together, and this is the first time I am working with him,” Gill said about Gambhir the coach. “But whatever he has told me during these two sessions, his intent and communication have been very clear – he knows what he wants from which player, and what he thinks will work for each player.”