IPL 2021: "I might pick up bowling and be really good at it" - Shubman Gill

Indian opener Shubman Gill has revealed that he used to be a part-time bowler during his Under-16 and Under-19 days before he was warned for a suspect bowling action. The 21-year-old now wants to take up bowling again and exuded confidence that he might become 'pretty good' at it.

Shubman Gill is currently preparing for IPl 2021 with his franchise Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai. Gill has been seen bowling off-spin in the nets for the team. Last year, the franchise also released a video of Shubman Gill trying his hand at orthodox spin against assistant coach Abhishek Nayar.

In an interview with PTI on Sunday, Shubman Gill said in this regard:

'In U-16 and U-19, I used to bowl a lot, but I was warned for a suspect action in U-19, then I kind of stopped bowling. Let's see, you never know I might pick it up and be determined to bowl. I think I should be able to do a pretty good job,"

Although Shubman Gill hasn't bowled in international cricket yet, his batting has been nothing short of brilliant. In his debut Test series in Australia, Gill scored 259 runs at an average of 51.8 in three games.

He went through a lean patch against England in the home Test series, collecting only 119 runs at an average of 19.83. But the youngster is expected to come good for KKR in IPL 2021.

"Strike rate is overrated" - Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill

Opening the batting for KKR in IPL 2020, Shubman Gill scored 440 runs at a decent average of 33.85. However, his strike rate (just under 118) was on the lower side, which prompted critics to question his ability to get the team off to brisk starts in the shortest format of the game.

Nevertheless, dismissing perceptions about his inability to flourish in T20 cricket, Shubman Gill said that strike rate is 'overrated' and adapting to different match situations is more important for a batsman.

"I think strike rate is kind of overrated. 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. There shouldn't be a certain pattern to your game, where you are only able to play one kind of game and not able to adapt to different situations," said Shubman Gill.

IPL 2021 will begin on April 9, with KKR playing their first match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 10.