“He is India’s Future”: When Rohit Sharma Tipped Big Things for Shubman Gill Even Before His Test Debut

Indian batter Shubman Gill is considered one of the biggest talents in world cricket. The right-handed batter from Punjab has now scored centuries for India in each format of the game. He is just the fifth batter after Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli to achieve that milestone for India.

The journey of Gill has not been easy. His father Lakhwinder Singh, who is an agriculturist, wanted to be a cricketer. Lakhwinder’s dream could not become true but he helped his son to achieve success. The Gill family moved to Mohali leaving their ancestral village and rented a house near the PCA Stadium.

The 2018 U-19 World Cup was a major turnaround in Gill’s career. India won the trophy and Gill was the Player of the Tournament. He scored 372 runs at an average of 124 with the help of one century and three half-centuries. Gill made his India debut in 2019 against New Zealand in an ODI match.

When Rohit Sharma Tipped Big Things for Shubman Gill

In early 2020, India toured New Zealand for a 5-match T20I, 3-match ODI and 2-match Test series. Gill was not a part of the white-ball squad but was selected for the Test matches. India lost both Tests against the Kiwis and surprisingly, Gill was not selected in both matches despite the failure of the other batters.

After the series, current India captain Rohit Sharma was in a conversation with former India spinner Harbhajan Singh. Sharma, there tipped Gill to be the next big thing in Indian cricket. He had acknowledged Gill’s domestic cricket numbers and expressed his desire to get him on the team. Even Singh had to said to Sharma that Gill should have played in the Test series against the Blackcaps.

“Shubhman Gill is a very fluent batsman. I think he is India’s future. I feel when he gets chances, if he scores runs, he will get that confidence. Now he doesn’t know when he’ll play. He’s done well in the domestic circuit, I think we should get him into the team,” Rohit had said.

Shubman Gill made his Test debut at MCG

Gill finally made his Test debut in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21. After Shaw’s failure in Adelaide, Gill got his chance in the second Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground. He scored 45 (65) runs in the first innings and 35* (36) in the second. India won that match by eight wickets to level the series.

India won the historic series and Gill was great with the bat. He scored 259 runs in six innings at an average of 51.80. He scored a couple of half-centuries and his knock of 91 runs in the Brisbane Test is still remembered fondly.