Shubman Gill has no regrets. India’s Test and ODI captain has made peace with the selectors’ decision to leave him out of the T20 World Cup squad.

Adopting a more philosophical outlook ahead of the opening ODI versus New Zealand in Vadodara on Sunday, Gill said that he believes in destiny and has decided to move on.

“I think being an athlete, being a sportsperson, is all about staying in the present. The more present you are when you’re on the field, doing your primary skill as a batsman or a bowler, the less you think about what might happen or what has already happened. That gives you a better chance of succeeding,” Gill said on Saturday.

“For me, the approach remains the same. The more I focus on what I need to do right now, the more I can stay in the present. That makes life simpler, and when life is simpler, it becomes a more peaceful and happier space to live in.”

Gill has been more successful in coming to terms with not being a part of that squad than with the Test defeats against South Africa. He has not been part of any T20 World Cup teams since his international debut in 2019.

“I believe I am right where I have to be in my life,” Gill said. “Whatever is in my destiny, nobody can take it away from me. Obviously, as a player, you believe that if you play the World Cup, you can win it for your team, for your country. Having said that, I respected the selectors’ decision. And wishing the T20 team all the very best, and I really, really hope that they win the World Cup for us.”

He said that he had provided the BCCI with suggestions for Test cricket, especially the need for a loose calendar for the team so that they can prepare properly for a series.

“One of the suggestions that I was very keen on is... if you would see in the last two Test series that we played, we didn’t have that much time to prepare,” Gill said. “It’s not easy playing another match in a different country and then playing in India on the fourth day. Especially when you’re travelling on long tours.

“I feel even if we would have won the series against South Africa, it still wouldn’t have made that much of a difference (in terms of adequate preparation) because we know we need to prepare well to be able to win Test matches all over the world.

“Preparation for me is really big, and I didn’t think that we had that much time to prepare when we came back from Australia, or even after the Asia Cup when we played the West Indies series.

“I think it’s important to at least have some bit of preparation... Especially when changing from white-ball format to red-ball. So this was one ofthe things that I was very keen on, and I think we’ll take some action and we’ll keep it in mind to be able to preparewell before the start of any red-ball series.”

He has requested theBCCI to have a more planned calendar.

“Maybe it would help to have a slightly loose calendar,” Gill said. “I don’t think there was a time in 2016, 2017, or 2018 when, after arriving from another country, you were playing a match on the fourth day. Perhaps it’s easier to play on the 10th day or even the 12th day. That gives the players a bit of breathing space...”