Shubman Gill opens up about his love for red handkerchief & why he wears it while batting
Gill is currently with the Indian Test squad in England, where he is likely to play in the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand.
- SportFit
- 2 min read
Indian batsman Shubman Gill has finally revealed why he wears a red handkerchief on his trousers whenever he goes out to bat. Gill, while speaking on the YouTube channel 'The Grade Cricketer', said he first started wearing the red handkerchief during the U-19 days and when he scored big runs he decided to go with it in every match. Gill, however, maintained that it's not a superstitious belief and he does it because that is how he began his white-ball career as players are not allowed to carry coloured clothing in first-class games in India.
"It's not a superstition. When I first started playing cricket we used to play with the red ball because in India you don't play white-ball cricket until a certain age group i.e the U-19s. So, when I first started playing with the white-ball that is when I started wearing the handkerchief on my trousers because you can't carry a coloured piece of clothing in red-ball cricket. I don't why I chose the red handkerchief but for some reason, I liked the colour so I started wearing it. And obviously, when you score runs and do well you tend to go with whatever you are doing at that moment. So that's one thing that kind of stuck with me and now I keep it with me all the time," Gill said.
Gill on Rahul Dravid
Gill also talked about other aspects of his life and cricketing career, including the influence of Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly on his game. When asked what advice did Rahul Dravid give to him during his U-19 days at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), Gill said it was mostly regarding the mental aspect of the game and not so much about the technicalities. Gill said Dravid doesn't like to tell players about what technical changes need to be made, rather he talks about the mental aspect and how to approach the game as an individual.
Gill is currently with the Indian Test squad in England, where he is likely to play in the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand. The WTC final will be played in Southampton, starting June 18. The Indian team will then wait for about a month before starting their five-match Test series against hosts.