'Shubman Gill the future star': How Fazilka boy shut down critics & stamped his position in Team India

With ICC's Cricket World Cup 2023 coming soon, Shubman Gill has become Team India's first-choice opener due to his batting prowess

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"Sitaara (Star). The future is here,” wrote Team India star batter Virat Kohli when Shubman Gill smashed a blistering unbeaten 126 runs against New Zealand in the third and final T20. Shubman Gill's unbeaten knock in the final T20 match against New Zealand helped the Men in Blue seal the series. When India vs New Zealand ODI series was about to start, there were debates that skipper Rohit Sharma should opt for Ishan Kishan as he is the inform batter who smashed a double ton against Bangladesh. However, Rohit Sharma opted for Shubman Gill and backed the 23-year-old cricketer's skills and girt which he showcased in the Test series against Australia in their own den. Shubman Gill did not let Rohit Sharma down and shut down the media and cricket pundits by registering his first-ever double hundred of his ODI career. In fact, India rode on Gill’s 208 (149b, 19*4, 9*6) to post a mammoth 349 for the loss of eight wickets. Due to his batting prowess, Shubman Gill changed the narrative of cricket pundits from 'he should be kept as an option' to 'he must play against Australia'. However, Shubman's journey to cricket was not easy as his family had to move to a totally different place to support his passion and determination for sports

Shubman Gill's early life

Shubman Gill was born on 8 September 1999 in Fazilka of Punjab India. He did his schooling at Manav Mangal Smart School which is in Mohali of Punjab. Shubman has been playing cricket since his childhood. Gill's cricketing inspirations are Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. Interestingly, Rahul Dravid is the Head of Team India and Gill delivered his brilliant performance under his guidance. As per reports, his family shifted from Fazilka to Mohali and there they were living in a rental house which was located nearby the Punjab Cricket Association and IS Bindra Stadium so that Shubman could play and enhance his cricketing skills. Shubman Gill's family supported him to achieve his dream.

Shubman Gill first came into the spotlight when he dominated the Under 19 cricket world cup. In fact, Shubman was vice-captain of Team India at the 2018 Under-19 world cup. Not only this, Shubman was awarded as player of the tournament of the prestigious ICC's 2018 Under-19 world cup.

Before his Under 19 World Cup heroics, Shubhman was selected to play in the under sixteen cricket team of Punjab State when he was just 11 years old at the district level. Then he made his debut against the Vidarbha cricket team in Delhi in the year 2017 and then, in the year 2017 itself he was chosen to play in the Indian Under-19 cricket team. When he played first match against England in the Youth One day international series, his total score was 351 runs, and he also won the Man of the Series title.

Shubman Gill and IPL

After Shubman Gill made his name worldwide in the Under-19 Cricket World Cup, he was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders. In his first auction, KKR bought Shubman at a whopping amount of Rs 1.8 crore. Shubman remained part of Kolkata Knight Riders from 2018 to 2021 and delivered many match-winning performances. After Gill's performance at the World Cup, reports suggest that KKR was keen to get his services and made the first bid after his price crossed Rs 75 lakh. KKR continued to bid and defeated Rajasthan Royals to make the winning bid. Gill was given the opening job on a consistent basis in 2020 and scored 440 runs in that season. In 2021, he was on the cusp of being dropped from the final XI. The right-handed batsman made an impressive comeback in the 2nd half of the season and finished with 478 runs in 17 matches. In total, Gill finished his KKR stint with 1417 runs in 58 matches at 31.48.

However, Shubman's parting with KKR was only the beginning of something big. He was directly drafted by a newly inducted Ahmedabad franchise named Gujarat Titans for a whopping sum of Rs 8 crore. Currently, Shubman Gill plays for Gujarat Titans. In IPL 2022, Shubman delivered many match-winning performances for Gujarat Titans and skipper Hardik Pandya showed great faith in him. Even now, during India vs New Zealand T20 series, when Shubman was dismissed early in the first two matches, voices started to raise against him and fans on social media questioned Hardik Pandya's decision not to give the opening slot to Ishan Kishan. However, like always, Shubman shut down everyone when he smashed unbeaten 126 runs in the final and sealed series win over the Black Caps. As of now, Shubman Gill is part of Team India Test squad in the 2023 Border Gavaskar Trophy. Although Gill could not get a chance to play the first Test, he will indeed get a chance in the other matches. In Virat Kohli's very own words, Shubman Gill is the 'future sitara'.

Watch some unseen pictures and videos of Shubman Gill

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