“My dad used to wake me up at 3 the morning” - Shubman Gill opens up on challenges during his early days

Indian Test captain Shubman Gill has opened up on the challenging moments during the initial phase before starting off his career. Speaking exclusively on Apple Music podcast, Gill revealed that his father used to wake him up at 3 in the morning for an early morning practice.

While speaking about his initial struggles, Gill also revealed that his father had a disagreement with the initial coach at an academy he enrolled in. Moreover, Gill credited his father for pushing him hard during his initial days.

“During one of the initial phases, my dad kind of had a falling out with the academy coach that we were enrolled in, and he kicked us out from the academy. That academy was like a public academy, not a private academy. The coach used to have his sessions from 6:00 to 10:00 in the morning and then from 4:00 to 6:00 in the evening,” Shubman Gill said on Apple Music podcast.

“So my dad used to wake me up at 3:00 to practice from 3:00 to 6:00 before he came. I used to wake up at 3:00, practice from 3:00 to 6:00, then go to school. Then I’d take a half day when the coach would finish his academy at around 11:00 a.m. or so. Then I’d come back and practice from 11 till 3, and then he’d come back again,” he added.

“We did this for a couple of years. I don’t have any bad memories or anything like that, but this phase was a little challenging, waking up at 3:00 every day in the morning. Sometimes, as a kid, you just don’t want to wake up. But I’m very grateful that my dad kept me pushing through it,” he noted.

Moreover, Gill also talked about him becoming the Indian Test captain, replacing Rohit Sharma, ahead of the five-match Test series against England in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. He felt that the England tour is one of the satisfying series for him as a player.

“Before the series, when I was named captain of the team, there were a lot of questions around me and the kind of series that we had as a team, and me as a player and as a batsman. I think this whole series I would put together as one moment, and this is what’s been the most satisfying series for me: the most satisfying moments.”

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