Youngster Shubman Gill hasn’t had a chance to work closely with MS Dhoni but the 20-year-old batsman cherishes the little things he took from the former India skipper. Of the two matches he’s played for India, Gill played one of them with Dhoni – the fifth ODI between India and New Zealand in 2019 at Wellington – and although he never got the chance to spend more time with India’s most successful ODI captain, the 20-year-old has imbibed a few things he will always remember.
“I haven’t interacted much with Mahi bhai but one thing I have learnt from him is that you can win from any situation, you just have to believe in yourself. Just believe in practice, just believe in the hard work, just don’t give it away,” Gill told The Indian Express.
Prior to the lockdown, Gill attracted controversy when he was fined 100 percent match fee for disputing an umpire’s decision during a Ranji Trophy match between Punjab and Delhi. However, Yuvraj Singh came to the youngster’s defence, saying Gill did not swear at the umpire but only questioned his decision.
Unlike Dhoni, Gill has had the chance to work in closer quarters with Yuvraj. The former left-handed batsman, in fact, has taken him – along with three more youngsters – along with him. Yuvraj has fed them home-cooked food and made them sweat out at his personal gymnasium. He is retired but Yuvraj has been pretty busy this season, conducting two long camps at the behest of the Punjab Cricket Association, at Mohali’s PCA Stadium where these four cricketers fine-tuned their fitness and skills, with a special emphasis on mental strengthening.
“Yuvi paaji told me that I have to trust my own game and I have to go there and have fun and enjoy the game. And that I shouldn’t be too hard on myself,” he said.
