Shubman Gill: I used to be petrified of bouncers

Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill on Sunday revealed that he used to be "petrified of bouncers" before eventually overcoming all his fears to get his Test career off to a rollicking start. Gill, 21, announced his arrival on the big stage with a classic 91 that set the tone for India's incredible victory on the final day of the series-deciding fourth Test against Australia recently. "When you get hit by a ball, your fear disappears.

India's Shubman Gill plays one of his favourite cut shots to a rising delivery on Day 5 of the Gabba Test recently

You're only scared till you get a blow," Gill was quoted as saying by his IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders on their website www.kkr.in. "When I was young, I was petrified of bouncers. I used to be prepared for the chest-height balls in advance. I used to practice drives a lot, so I started playing the pull shot with a straight bat. I developed one more shot, where I move aside to play the cut. These two- three shots were my favourite as a kid and are still part of me. I felt scared of short deliveries, so I wanted to go out of the line of the ball and play the cut shot."

Going back to his early days in Mohali, Gill spoke of how he was scared of facing a particular fast bowler: "I was nine and was asked to play in a higher age group match. There was a bowler in the academy, who was really fast. I was scared that I'd get a bouncer to start with. I decided I would duck. He bowled a bouncer but pitched way ahead. I squatted and the ball hit the edge of my bat and raced to the boundary. I realised he was not that fast. Soon, I hit 2-3 more boundaries. It erased my fear."