I Couldn’t Sleep And Had To Take A Sleeping Pill: Shubman Gill Opens Up About His Test Debut

Indian Test opener Shubman Gill has opened up about what turned out to be a fairytale debut for him during the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground last month and also about how the team reacted when they were shot out for 36- India’s lowest-ever Test total- in the second innings of the pink-ball Test at the Adelaide Oval.

After having dominated the opening two days of the pink ball Test, it all came crumbling down for Virat Kohli’s men in a maniac first session on the third afternoon as Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood ran riot in what was the most amazing display of seam-bowling one has ever witnessed.

Talking about the 36 all-out, Shubman Gill, who wasn’t a part of the playing 11 in that Test, said that the entire team did not know how to react as they shell-shocked as to what had happened. Gill said that what triggered him to perform like he eventually did in the rest of the series was a news item that read ”the great Adelaide collapse”. After reading that headline, all Shubman thought that he won’t let the series be remembered for the shambolic collapse.

“When the 36-all-out happened in Adelaide, it was really shocking for us. We didn’t know how to react because everything happened so quickly. We didn’t get the time to absorb it. We were in a comfortable position in the match, and in an hour everything changed,” Shubman Gill told Forbes India.

“What really triggered me was that the day after this incident there was a news item that said “the great Adelaide collapse”. I was reading it and all I could think at that time was that I don’t want the series to be remembered in terms of the collapse,” he added.

‘I knew I’ll get to debut in the MCG match’- Shubman Gill

With Prithvi Shaw failing to impress in both the innings in Adelaide, it was pretty much clear that Shubman Gill would be making his Test debut at the MCG. However, Gill has revealed that he knew prior to the first Test that he will be making his debut at the ‘G.

The 21-year-old said that he was so nervous on the eve of his Test debut that he had to resort to taking sleeping pills. With India bowling on the first day, Shubman did not feel that he was playing his first Test and it was only when he came out to bat during the closing stages of the final day that the reality finally began to sink in.

”Before our first match [in Adelaide], I knew I’ll get to debut in the MCG match. I couldn’t sleep and had to take a sleeping pill. Next morning, on the first day of the Test, we were fielding first. It didn’t hit me then that I was making my debut since the entire team was on the field,” Gill revealed.

In the evening, I had to go in to bat. When I faced my first 10-12 balls, the enormity of the occasion sunk in–I am playing at the international level, facing the best bowling attack. That’s when I told myself that now I need to be really focussed,” the 21-year-old signed off.

Contrary to what Shubman Gill said, the 21-year-old looked remarkably calm and composed while facing the onslaught by the Aussie quicks. He was quick to stamp his authority courtesy of his trademark strokes and eventually ended up scoring 45 in the first innings. He then proceeded to back it up with a couple of half-centuries during the course of the next five innings, the best of the lot being his match-winning 91 during India’s historic run-chase at the Gabba.

Also Read: ‘Boss, Just Carry On, You Are Sorted’- Vikram Rathour’s Reveals A Conversation With Shubman Gill That Blew His Mind Away