Shubman Gill is growing from strength to strength with each passing game. While he was seen as the next big thing in Indian cricket right from the time he was playing age-group cricket, not many had expected him to perform so well in international cricket at such an early age.
The right-handed batsman has taken international cricket by storm. He has started 2023 on a stunning note. He made his T20I debut against Sri Lanka last month. It was followed by a stunning ODI series against the Islanders where he smashed one fifty and a century in the three-match series.
In the following three-match ODI series against New Zealand, he scored a double century and a century. It was then followed by his maiden T20I century as Shubman Gill announced his arrival at the highest stage of the game. The youngster has already proved his worth in the Test arena.
Aakash Chopra on Shubman Gill:
Shubman Gill’s meteoric rise in international cricket has taken former India batsman Aakash Chopra by surprise too. The former India opener-turned-commentator has said that Shubman Gill is no more the future of Indian cricket but is already the present.
While the majority still believes the right-handed batsman as the future of Indian cricket, Chopra believes that the 23-year is already the ‘present’ of the Indian team.
“We used to say that Shubman Gill is the future of Indian cricket, now we have started saying that he is the present of Indian cricket. His potential was seen when he went to play in the Under-19 World Cup. He started playing well and asked people to watch him because he has something special,” said Chopra while speaking on his YouTube channel.
Chopra further revealed that he was a bit skeptical when Gill made his Test debut in Melbourne before lavishing praise on him. The former cricketer stated that Gill has not looked back since making his debut.
“When he made his Test debut, I was slightly fifty-fifty. I was thinking that the guy was making his debut at the Melbourne ground and how it would go. He batted very well there also and hasn’t looked back thereafter. He has regularly played well. There will be a few ups and downs but he has been good,” said Chopra.
Speaking further, Chopra spoke about Gill’s batting technique. He pointed out the factors that make the youngster a special batsman. Chopra was all praise for the way Gill bats as he stated that the India opener rarely struggles with the bat.
“What is special in him? The first thing is that he has the gift of timing which a lot of other players don’t have. Either you have it or you don’t. This guy has it. After that, he is really pleasing on the eye.”
“It is very difficult to say how, but some players look very good when they are playing. They are just elegance, poetry in motion. You never see him struggling. He is just total elegance and because of that, you get attracted towards it,” said Chopra.