"It Doesn't...": Shubman Gill's Honest Statement On Being Handed India Vice-Captaincy In ODI, T20Is

Shubman Gill, India's vice-captain in white-ball formats, on Thursday lauded new head coach Gautam Gambhir for his clarity of thought, while hoping to establish himself as an all-format player in the coming months. Gill will be the deputy to Suryakumar Yadav in the shortest format while he will be the second-in-command to Rohit Sharma in the ODIs during India's trip to Sri Lanka, beginning with the first T20I at Pallekele, Sri Lanka on Saturday. This is Gambhir's debut tour as India coach after he replaced Rahul Dravid, who vacated the seat after India's T20 World Cup triumph in the America's last month.

"We are the world champions and we will look to play accordingly, and, hopefully, we will have more success under the new coaching staff. This is the first time I am working with him (Gambhir)," Gill told the media during a press-meet at Pallekele, Sri Lanka.

"But during those two net sessions, his intent and communication have been very clear. He is very clear about which player he wants to work with at a particular time and on which areas he wants to work with him," he added.

While his eventual goal is to bring more success to the team, Gill also wanted to firmly establish himself as an all-format batsman across the conditions.

Though Gill was a travelling reserve with Team India during the T20 World Cup, he could not find a place in the 15, and the right-hander identified that as the first point of correction.

"During the matches before the T20 World Cup, I could not perform to the level that I was expecting from myself.

"In the upcoming cycle where we will play 30-40 T20Is, I will try to improve my performance as a batsman," he said.

But the 24-year-old has set his eyes on the five-match Test tour to Australia later