He might be only 21 but Shubman Gill has already being touted as the next batting superstar of Indian cricket.
Some months ago, India’s limited-overs deputy Rohit Sharma called him the “future” while skipper Virat Kohli last year complimented the Punjab batsman, saying he wasn’t even 10 per cent of what Gill is when he was a teenager.
Ahead of the 13th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) head coach Brendon McCullum showered rich praise on Gill and made him part of the team’s leadership group.
“Being part of the leadership group means that your opinion matters to the team. That is what is happening at KKR and that is what would happen at the under-19 World Cup,” Gill said in an exclusive chat with Hindustan Times.
His role in the KKR leadership group is “to be the voice of the people who have just come into the squad and are a bit shy to directly go to the coach or the captain.”
There were a lot of expectations from Shubman Gill heading into the IPL 2020. While the lanky right-hander hasn’t lived up to his extraordinary talent yet, he has certainly displayed a glimpse of it in some of the knocks.
During his 62-ball 70* against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gill played a couple of breathtaking shots and the youngster is now looking to unleash reverse sweep as well in the upcoming games.
“I think it is coming along pretty well, you might see me playing the reverse sweep sometime later in this IPL,” he said.
Gill was part of India’s Test squad in New Zealand after his scores of 84, 204* and 136 against New Zealand ‘A’. Last year, he made his ODI debut against the Black Caps but failed to register a big knock from two opportunities.
Reflecting on his exploits against New Zealand ‘A’, Gill said: “I was getting starts but was not able to convert them. When I was set in the day’s match, I tried to convert them into something big and was happy to execute it.”
(Inputs from Hindustan Times)
