Strike-rate is kind of overrated,” asserted India’s emerging star Shubman Gill, for whom a batsman’s biggest strength is adapting to different situations without having a fixed batting style.
He was one of the architects of India’s historic Test series triumph Down but Gill has played just three ODIs and is yet to make his T20I debut.
The youngster is may still not be in team’s white-ball scheme of things due to his slow strike-rate but it is not a cause of concern for him.
“I think strike-rate is kind of overrated,” the Kolkata Knight Riders star batsman told PTI in an interview ahead of the upcoming IPL.
“It’s all about how you adapt to a certain situation. If the team demands you to play with a strike rate of 200 you should be able to do it. If the team demands you to play at a strike rate of 100, you should be able to do it. It’s just about adapting to the match situation,” he said confidently.
“There shouldn’t be a certain pattern to your game where you are only able to play one kind of game and not being able to adapt to different situations,” he added.
After his spectacular Test debut Down Under, Gill endured a lean patch in the home series against England, hitting just one-half century from seven innings.
“I don’t think it will affect anything because we have almost 10-12 days before our first match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (April 11) so there’s plenty of time for me to prepare,” he said.
Last year he was seen donning the opener’s role for KKR but Gill is ready to play any role that his captain Eoin Morgan demands. “I’ll be pretty comfortable and up for it whether the team requires me to bat in the middle-order or higher up. I’m up for anything,” he said.
Asked to pick his favourite format, Gill said, “Honestly, All the three formats have their own excitement and have their own experiences.”
“In Test matches there’s a different type of rush and excitement. In ODIs, there’s a different kind of rush and when you’re playing T20s, it’s different. All three are different but all three are really exciting.”
Gill will have an ever-lasting memory of the Test series Down Under where he scored 259 runs in three matches.
“It was not a great feeling when you see the best batting lineup in the world getting bundled out for less than 40 runs.