"Bahar baithke toh run ho nahi sakte" - When a teenage Shubman Gill spoke about batting long in Test cricket [Watch]

Indian Test skipper Shubman Gill was at his absolute best on Day 2 (Thursday, July 3) of the second Test against England, notching up a magnificent double century at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The visitors piled up a commanding total of 587 runs in their first innings, with Gill leading the charge with a brilliant 269 off 387 balls, including 30 fours and three sixes.

With this knock, he etched several records to his name—becoming the Indian captain with the highest individual score in Test cricket. It now also stands as the highest Test score by an Indian batter in England.

Amid the buzz around his remarkable innings, an old video of Shubman Gill from 2014 has gone viral. It was recorded shortly after he smashed a triple and a quadruple century in Punjab’s Inter-District U16 tournament.

In the clip, a young Gill spoke about the mindset required for Test cricket and shared his ultimate dream—to play for India. The video was shared on Instagram by the Punjab Cricket Association, where he said:

“Ye dhyan mein hona chahiye ki ye Test cricket hai—agar aap jaldi out ho gaye toh poora din bahar baithna padega, aur uska koi haasil nahi hoga. Isliye jitni der aap crease pe ho, utni der hi aap run bana sakte ho. Bahar baithke toh run ho nahi sakte. Isliye khyaal rakhna padta hai ki lift nahi maarni, jitna ho sake grounded khelna hai. Haan, agar koi bahut hi loose ball milti hai, jaise full toss wagairah, toh unhe hawa mein lift kar deta tha. Maksad toh yehi hai ki India ka tag lagana hai."

[One has to keep in mind that this is Test cricket—if you get out early, you’ll have to sit outside the entire day, and there’s nothing to gain from that. The longer you stay at the crease, the more runs you can score. You can’t score runs sitting outside. That’s why you have to be careful not to play lofted shots unnecessarily—play grounded as much as possible. Yes, if there’s a really loose ball, like a full toss, I do go for the lofted shot. The ultimate goal is to earn the India cap].

Meanwhile, in his 34th Test, the Indian skipper has now amassed 2,317 runs, including seven centuries and as many fifties to his name.

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“I've seen many many great innings, and that is up there with those great innings” - Former England skipper lavishes high praise on Shubman Gill

Former England captain Michael Vaughan showered praise on Shubman Gill for his sublime 269-run knock, calling it one of the finest innings he has witnessed. Speaking on Cricbuzz, Vaughan said:

“I've seen many many great innings, and that is up there with those great innings, because someone that is 0-1 down in the series, is captaining his country for the second time, the pressure is on, the talk of the team being a negative one, to walk out and score that amount of runs and put your team in such a dominating position to allow your bowlers to run in hard for an hour and get three wickets, that is why I rank it as such a high valued innings.”

Meanwhile, in reply to India’s massive first-innings total of 587, the hosts ended Day 2 at 77/3 after 20 overs.