Gill at peace with T20 World Cup snub; calls for better Test preparation

Shubman Gill has made peace with the selectors' decision to leave him out of the Twenty20 World Cup. He has learned to respect the selectors' judgment and adopted a more philosophical outlook.

"I think being an athlete, being a sportsperson, is all about staying in the present," the India skipper remarked. "The more present you are when you're on the field, doing your primary skill, the less you think about what might happen or what has already happened. That gives you a better chance of succeeding."

"For me, the approach remains the same. The more I focus on what I need to do right now, the more I can stay in the present. That makes life simpler, and when life is simpler, it becomes a more peaceful and happier space to live in."

Since his international debut in 2019, three T20 World Cups have passed without Gill's involvement. He will also not feature in the upcoming tournament.

"It's definitely very frustrating," Gill said. "Obviously, as a player, you have a belief that if you play in the World Cup, you will win it for your team and for your country. Having said that, I respect the selectors' decision, and I wish the T20 team all the very best. I really hope that they win the World Cup for us."

As captain of the Test side, Gill has pointed to recent series losses at home to South Africa and away to New Zealand. He suggested the team needs a looser schedule to prepare properly for Test series.

"Maybe it would help to have a slightly looser calendar," Gill said. "I don't think there was a time a few years ago when, after arriving from another country, you were playing a match on the fourth day. Perhaps it's easier to play on the 10th or even the 12th day. That gives the players breathing space and allows time to prepare properly and feel confident."

"If you look at the last two Test series we played, we didn't have enough time to prepare. It's not easy playing in India and then turning around to play another match in a different country within four days, especially on long tours."

"Even if we had won the series against South Africa, I don't think it would have made much difference because we know that to win Test matches all over the world, we need to prepare properly. Preparation, for me, is extremely important, and I felt we didn't have sufficient time when we returned from Australia or even after the Asia Cup before the West Indies series."

"I believe it's important to have at least some preparation time, especially when switching from white-ball cricket to red-ball cricket. That was something I was very keen on, and it's something we'll keep in mind and act on so that we can prepare better before the start of any red-ball series."