“We’ve played 4 matches without any issues,” Gill on heated conversation

IANS INDIA

London: Regarding the heated conversation between Indian Cricket Team Head Coach Gautam Gambhir and Oval Pitch Curator Lee Fortis, Indian Team Captain Shubman Gill says, I’m not sure what happened yesterday or why the pitch curator acted that way. We’ve played four matches without any issues. Everyone’s experienced coaches and captains have inspected the pitch many times. I don’t see what the fuss is about.    #ENGvIND #ShubhmanGill #EnglandCricket #TestCricket #TheOval

Transcript

00:00As I remember, there is no instruction as long as you are wearing rubber spikes or you are barefoot.

00:07I think you can see the wicket from the past.

00:11I don't know what happened exactly yesterday in terms of why the curator made it.

00:17But we have played 4 matches before this and we have played.

00:22I don't know what the first was all about.

00:31Shubman, if you look at this series, between 2 test matches there is a gap of 8 days and 9 days.

00:38But some of the other test matches we have seen in turnaround time of just 3 days.

00:42And it has taken a toll on their bowlers.

00:45You will see the England item and also in our case also.

00:49So do you think the scheduling of a 5 match series needs to be much more customized?

00:59Also one of the most important things in the series has been that all the matches have gone up until 5 days.

01:07And not just 5 days, the last session of the 5 days.

01:13I can't remember a series where all the 4 test matches that were played went up until that last of a moment.

01:22So it's definitely hard.

01:243 days is too less of a turnaround when both the teams are playing such a hard cricket.

01:29But if you keep giving 5 or 6 days after every match, the tour becomes very long.

01:39So yes, it is something that I think the decision has been taken by the boards.

01:45And we trust the decision that they take.

01:49Shubanda, what are your thoughts on Jaspreet because he bowled 1 innings in Manchester.

01:55And after this test match we have got a month off.

01:58So when you think in terms of workload management also, nothing before the Asia Cup series decided on the line.

02:04He had not played in Birmingham.

02:05Is that enough rest for him to turn up for one final time?

02:09Or how are you all thinking about that?

02:12So we are going to take a decision tomorrow.

02:15The wicket looks pretty keen so we will see how it turns out.

02:19Shuban, this has been a long series and as you said all matches have gone to the last season.

02:25How does it affect you mentally?

02:28How much does it suck out of you?

02:30There has been a lot of ingenious between the teams as well.

02:33Does that impact that playing such grueling series?

02:36Does that influence your behavior on the field also?

02:39How much does that happen?

02:42Not really, you know.

02:43I think once you are done with the match, you are done with the match.

02:45And you move on to the next one.

02:47And you want to play the next one as competitive and as best as you can.

02:53And for us, I can say it doesn't really matter what we have done in the last match.

02:58Good or bad, whatever has happened in the last match has gone by.

03:02We want to move on and we want to perform the best in the next one that we can.

03:07We want to take care.

03:08Shuban, as a junior you have been involved in five match series earlier.

03:10This is the first time as a captain and you have come to a very hard country backing with

03:15him.

03:16As you said all gone to the last hour.

03:18So as a captain, physically, mentally and emotionally, what kind of role has this taken

03:22in comparison to Sabine or just a player?

03:26It's been very exciting.

03:27One day before the last test match, I am here and I am very excited and looking forward

03:33to play the last test match and hopefully win this one level series for us.

03:37It would be a great achievement for us.

03:39Shuban, obviously you would rather focus on yourself, but the fact that Ben Stokes is

03:46not playing for the country.

03:47He has had his hand in the series.

03:49How do you look at that?

03:50Do you want to move on in the next five minutes?

03:53A big miss for definitely England.

03:55I think the way whenever he comes on to bowl or bat, he always makes things interesting.

04:01He always makes something happen.

04:03So from their perspective, I think it is definitely a loss for them.

04:08But having said that, you know, the players who come in to play for the country, they are

04:14as competitive and they bring as much to the table as any other players.

04:18Shuban, I appreciate you answered this already, but can I ask you, in English, what

04:22you made of Gambia's outburst yesterday?

04:26Is he under pressure given everything the toil that this series has taken on him?

04:32Not really.

04:33I mean, if someone's, if a pitch creator is going to come and ask us to not look at the

04:39wicket and look at the wicket from three metres from behind, that's not something that has

04:43happened to us before.

04:44We have been playing cricket for such a long time and as long as, like I said, as long as

04:48you are under rubber spikes or you are barefoot, you are allowed to look at the wicket from

04:51close quarters and that's the job of the coach and the captain.

04:55So I don't know why the curator didn't let us or didn't allow us to do that.

05:01Hi Shuban, number three has been a little bit of, you know, a concern if that's the word,

05:08for you guys and also the fact that you have a lot of youngsters making their debut and like,

05:12you know, a lot of not so memorable performances.

05:15How do you handle them?

05:16Like as a captain, we have always spoken about, you know, communicating well and, you know,

05:21having your back around them.

05:23So how do you, you know, back youngster when they don't have a debut office or something like that?

05:29He scored a half century in the last test medal, so I don't think he had a bad game.

05:35He had a good game, he got out on the first ball in the second innings.

05:38That can happen to any player but I think, I was, someone was telling me I think he scored

05:43a half century outside of India after two or three years, so that's a big plus for us.

05:49Shuban, while you go into the series, with the opportunity to draw the series,

05:54you said it's a great achievement.

05:56Can you just kind of elaborate on that, how much you've learned yourself as a captain

06:00as well as the kind of team that now you can foresee in the future developing it?

06:06Like, on why and how significant this tour would be for you and your team?

06:11Very significant, I mean, if you look at the kind of cricket that we have played,

06:16sometimes the scorecard of the series, as in where we are in the series, doesn't determine that.

06:24I think every match that we have played, it was very difficult to decide which team is going to win

06:31after four days of cricket.

06:32If we are able to do that for every match, for four matches coming outside of India

06:36with a relatively young team, I think it is going to be a big achievement for us

06:42if we are able to level the series.

06:44And this series has been a great learning curve for me.

06:48You know, there are some things that you can only learn from experience

06:52and I have learned so much from these four matches that we have played.

06:55And hopefully we are going to finish on a high.

06:58If we are able to do that for four matches, for four matches in this match,

07:04what is our case?

07:05Because we have got extra rest for two days of our bowlers,

07:08so what is it?

07:10Yes sir, Farrakh, it is very difficult when we have been fielding for 160 over.

07:17It is not easy when you are fielding for three days,

07:21and especially in such wickets where there is a lot of fast bowling used in the spinners.

07:26So I think our fast bowlers and our team are in a good space.

07:31Luckily, we are not available as many players.

07:37But having said that,

07:40I haven't come to the game today and see how the weather will be for five days.

07:49So we will decide our combination of the game today.

07:55Shuman, first look of the wicket,

07:57you are saying that you will decide later,

07:59but England have not gone ahead with their specialist,

08:01Liam Dawson, for this game.

08:03Are India willing to think on those lines?

08:05And what is the status with Arshadip?

08:07Could we see a debut for him tomorrow?

08:09Like I said, we are going to take a decision on the playing eleven later this evening.

08:13And yes, they haven't gone with the front line spinner,

08:16but I think Bethel and Root,

08:20they are going to have their spinning options with them.

08:24And luckily for us, Washington and Jadeja,

08:27they have done such a good job with the bat and with the bowl.

08:29So on their front, it's a no-brainer for us.

08:33Actually, he is being asked to get ready.

08:36He is definitely, he is being asked to get ready.

08:39Like I said, we are going to take a decision later this evening.

08:42I will go have a look at the wicket.

08:44I haven't had a chance to look at the wicket.

08:46See how the weather is going to be in the next five days

08:48and then take a decision.

08:50Captain, if you can specify,

08:52what is the main reason that has convinced you

08:54to play a batter,

08:56a batting option in number eight,

08:57and not a specialist bowler so far in the series?

09:00I mean, if you look at Washington,

09:07he is someone who gives us so much control with the bowling.

09:11And his batting has been a really, really, really big plus for us.

09:15And we are fortunate to have players like that in our team,

09:18you know, who can prevent a collapse whenever it happens.

09:23In the lower middle order,

09:25we have seen that that was one of the areas

09:27where we thought we needed some work are lower middle order

09:30and with him coming in,

09:32I think we have improved that area.

09:34There have been several incidents

09:37like this series of teams coming together at a level,

09:41you know, arguing on the field.

09:42How would you describe the relationships

09:44between England and India teams?

09:46I think the relation is fantastic,

09:48but when you are on the field,

09:50you are trying to win a game at the end of the day

09:52and both the teams have been very competitive

09:55and sometimes when you are competitive,

09:57you know, in the heat of the moment,

09:58you do or say things that you might not do.

10:02But I think once the match is over,

10:04there is mutual respect between both the teams.

10:07So there were no regrets for anything that has gone on?

10:09No, not at all.

10:11Just on that,

10:16there have been three incidents at Lourdes

10:20at the end of the last game and the game yesterday.

10:23Are you looking at those as separate incidents,

10:26each individually,

10:27or do you think that over your trip

10:29maybe the, I don't know,

10:30the hospitality hasn't been the level that you would expect?

10:35No, nothing of that sort.

10:36I think these are three very separate moments,

10:38not correlated at all.

10:40I think I've already explained what happened at Lourdes

10:44and about the,

10:46even the incident that happened on the last day

10:48in the previous test match.

10:49I have given my thoughts and opinions on that.

10:52And what happened yesterday,

10:54I thought is just absolutely unnecessary.

10:56I mean,

10:57it's not the first time that we were having a look at the wicket.

10:59And we have,

11:01we have been here for almost,

11:03I think two months.

11:04And like I said,

11:06a coach has every right to be able to go close quarters

11:09and have a look at the wicket.

11:11And I didn't think that there was anything wrong with that.

11:14I actually don't know why,

11:16why the curator would not allow us to go have a look at the wicket.

11:21Last one.

11:22Shubhan,

11:23you just spoke about having all-rounders in your team

11:25in the lower world order.

11:27As a captain,

11:28what kind of challenges is it for you to sort of,

11:31if you have six bowling options to,

11:33you know, rationing the number of bowlers over six options,

11:36what are the thoughts that go through

11:38and how do you decide to be in the game?

11:40It's very difficult.

11:41You know,

11:42when you're playing six bowlers,

11:43you know that one or two bowlers are definitely going to go under bowl

11:46because you have to,

11:48sometimes what I,

11:50what I've felt in the series,

11:52like in the last match,

11:53lot of people also felt that Washington would have come in earlier,

11:56which is,

11:58which is a valid point.

11:59But sometimes when you're out in the middle,

12:01you see,

12:02with this ball,

12:03when there are two spinners bowling early in the innings,

12:05it's very hard to maintain the ball.

12:07And the fast bowlers go out of the game for about eight to ten overs

12:10because then you can need to maintain the ball.

12:13So,

12:14in,

12:15in hindsight,

12:16yeah,

12:17you can,

12:18there,

12:19there would always be opinions

12:20and there would always be thoughts and you could have done this,

12:21could have done that.

12:22But what matters is when you are out there in the middle,

12:24you want to be able to make a decision that you think would suit the best for that moment.

12:29And when you're playing with six bowling options,

12:31there would definitely be some opinions where,

12:34you know,

12:35one bowler is going to go under bowl.

12:38But,

12:39it's good to have more bowling options rather than not having bowling options for sure.

12:43So,

13:00Charles Hull,

13:01and with you

13:02the grenadineal War patchwork,

13:04the Patricia Hull,

13:05the Richard,

13:07which is in the Platform of the Channel,

13:08as well as at the우,

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