‘Strike rotation in the middle overs will be key’: Gill on mastering Dubai’s tired pitches

Strike rotation key to mastering Dubai's tired pitches, says Gill

Shubman Gill emphasized the importance of rotating strike through the middle overs (11-40) on Dubai's pitches at the Champions Trophy 2025. The Dubai International Stadium, host of the ILT20 tournament, is expected to have slow, turning surfaces.

"It's not easy to rotate the strike… The key will be that whichever team rotates well in the middle overs has a better chance of winning," Gill said.

India chased 228 against Bangladesh with a slow century from Gill after a strong start from Rohit Sharma. Gill spoke about finding the right batting tempo.

"Assess the conditions, see how the wicket is playing… We don't have any particular target set in our mind. We usually go out there, see how the wicket is and then try to get 15-20 runs more than what the par score we think that is on that wicket," Gill said.

Gill termed his century against Bangladesh 'the most satisfying' of his career due to the high-stakes nature of the Champions Trophy. He emphasized the importance of risk assessment in the 50-over format.

"The format of 50 overs is such that we feel that we have less time… But when a batsman gets out, he realizes that he actually had a lot of time," Gill said.

Gill explained his recent stellar form, which includes back-to-back centuries and four consecutive 50+ scores, as a slight mental reset after an underwhelming Test series in Australia.

"I didn't do any work on anything special… I am practicing the normal things that I do at home generally," Gill said.