I visualise playing my favourite shots to bowlers I'm going to face next, reveals Shubman Gill

Shubhman Gill came to the forefront and became a household name when he was awarded the player of Under-19 World Cup in 2018. A clean hitter and high run grosser in domestic cricket, he was selected as the X-factor player in the Kolkata Knight Riders brigade in the Indian Premier League in 2018. Gill's career is on an all-time high, as within less than a couple of years of playing for India in the U-19 World Cup, he has earned the much-coveted Indian Test call up. Earlier, during the Duleep Trophy in Bangalore, the 20-year old spoke about his learning curve since the U-19 World Cup experience.

"I'm clear in my head that my your game doesn't change. It's just the mindset that changes. At the Under-19 level, you are on level footing with every other player, whereas at the senior level, you face a lot of experienced cricketers. I can't play with the same mindset because playing someone at 125kph is different and someone at 140kph a completely different experience. That is where the IPL has helped immensely," Gill told ESPNCricinfo.

The 20-year-old said that the best way to adapt to situations is to remain calm and taking the risks instead of fretting about the results. This has helped him make important decisions under pressure. 

"It's just about calculating the situations, assessing what the team needs and how your decisions will affect or benefit the team at a certain time. You have to take risks at times. My mindset is such that I don't think about what will happen I play a certain shot and get out. You have to be calm to make decisions under pressure," he said. 

When asked if he constantly thinks about cricket even when off the field, the youngster said, "I know you will have more bad days than good, so you have to be balanced."

"Sometimes I think a lot when I have had a bad day. On the field, you have to be switched on all the time. If you'd asked me this question two years ago, I would have said 'yes, I think a lot' but over time, I have changed. Before every match, we have meetings where we analyse videos of bowlers we're likely to face. Personally, before going to sleep the night before, I visualise, I imagine facing up to those bowlers and playing my favourite shots," Gill spoke about his visualisation techniques while batting.

India will play three Tests against south Africa, the first of which will start on October 2, in Visakhapatnam.