IND vs NZ | No fight with Prithvi Shaw for spot in starting XI, attests Shubman Gill

02/13/2020

Young gun Shubman Gill clarified that there is no fight between him and Prithvi Shaw for a place in the Test side as he promised that the opportunity won't be wasted immaterial of the fact who gets it. Gill feels that the Indian batsmen must look out for the short ball to succeed in New Zealand.

As the Test series between India and New Zealand is set to get underway, a new battle seems to be raging in the Indian ranks as two young guns stand face to face for an opening in the side. Two of the most promising youngsters in the world of cricket - Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill - have been granted a golden opportunity to succeed heading into Tests, on the back of an injury to the incumbent Rohit Sharma.

While Gill is coming off a superb NZ tour with India A - amassing a double-ton, a ton and half-century - on one hand, Shaw has been almost perfect in the red-ball format since his return from injury, including amassing a double-century for Mumbai. As the speculations rage around the opening slot both of them are vying for, Gill stated otherwise.

The Punjab youngster shared that while their careers and origins and batting positions are very similar, there is no fight whatsoever between the U19 skipper and his deputy who clinched India's fourth youth World Cup.

"Obviously, our careers started at the same time but there is no fight as such," Gill said ahead of India's warm-up game, reported Times of India.

"Both of us have done well in our positions. It's up to the team management, who they will play. It's not as if there is a fight. Whoever gets the chance will try to make the most of the opportunity and not let it go waste."

The 20-year-old feels that the short ball is the Kiwis' most destructive weapon in the longest format and it's something the visitors must look to play down. Gill pointed out how their bowlers troubled one of the best in the World, Steven Smith, and advised his teammates to look out for the same.

"I think their bowling attack has been taking a lot of wickets with the short ball, especially Neil Wagner. If you see the last series they played against Australia, when nothing was happening in the wicket, they were really relying on the short ball.

"As batsmen, if we could take that out of the picture and not give wickets to the short ball, it will be really helpful for us," he observed.