Bengaluru, June 15: Indian opener Shubman Gill reveals his plans of how to survive and score runs in England, where the national team will play five Tests starting with the World Test Championship (WTC) Final against New Zealand.
Gill has often shown his attacking side in his previous Tests appearances, but the India opener is ready to leave some of the loose balls when he faces the New Zealand pace attack in the WTC final, slated to start on June 18 at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.
Shubman, who is expected to partner Rohit Sharma as the opener, has said he will apply all his learning from India A and the Under-19 tour of England to be in the right frame of mind against New Zealand in the high-octane clash.
"When I toured England with India A and the Under-19 team, everyone asked me to play a certain number of balls if I wanted to score runs. But I feel, your intent to score runs should never go on the back seat and you should look to survive," said Shubhman on Star Sports show Cricket Connected.
"When you are looking to score runs, the bowlers get to the back foot and you can put some pressure on the bowler. If you are just looking to survive, you tend to get more good balls than you should be getting. I think, at times to survive in England you have to leave the loose balls. So, that was my learning from the India A and Under-19 tour," he added.
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The Indian side recently played an intra-squad game in Southampton in which Gill scored 85. So, it makes him the favourite to open the batting alongside Rohit. Following the WTC Final, the Indian team will play a four-match Test series against England between August and September.