India’s young opener Shubman Gill is considered to be the next big thing in Indian cricket. After a century against Sri Lanka in Thiruvananthapuram, he slammed a double ton in ODI cricket against New Zealand in Hyderabad which spoke volumes about this gifted youngster from Punjab. However, there was a time when his lax attitude in the field had irked then fielding coach R Sridhar. So much so that he contemplated about putting a word to Head Coach Ravi Shastri.
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Recalling in his book ‘Coaching Beyond: My days with the Indian Cricket team,’ Sridhar wrote how next generation of Indian cricketers feel they are a ‘finished product’ when it comes to fielding.
He recalled how against England in Ahmedabad ‘things came to boil’ with Shubman after which he had to give him a lengthy lecture. He alleged that Gill was reluctant to put in the hard yards while fielding.
“In Ahmedabad, during the last Test against England in March 2021, things came to a boil with Shubman. I contemplated having a word with Ravi about it but held my horses and took him out for lunch instead.”
“I told him, ‘You are considered the next big thing. People are looking at you from a leadership perspective. As a future leader, the one thing you should bring is inspiration. You should have a presence on the field and when you do something you must do it with intent. It is not just doing it for the sake of the team. Do it for yourself.’ Do it for your satisfaction, not because the captain wants you there. What you do there should be an inspiration for the whole team.”
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The 23-year-old Gill is the best youngster in the side currently. He also became the fastest Indian to reach 1000 ODI runs. Moreover, he also considered to be a fine fielder who holds on to his catches.
Former PCB Chairman Calls Young India Opener ‘Mini Rohit Sharma’
Former Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja drew comparisons between young Shubman Gill and his captain Rohit Sharma. The duo has formed a solid partnership as the new opening pair of the Indian team in white-ball cricket. They have already shared multiple 100-run plus partnerships at the top as selectors have considered Gill as the opener for the ODI World Cup over an experienced Shikhar Dhawan.
Gill made his case very strong for the WC squad with a magnificent double century against New Zealand in the first ODI to join an elusive list of players.
Raja said that Shubman managed to conjure extra time while playing the ball which is exactly what has been said for Rohit for the past many years, suggesting that the young opener doesn’t need to change anything.
“Shubman Gill looks like a mini-Rohit Sharma. He has extra time and looks good. He has enough potential. Aggression will also develop with time. He doesn’t need to change anything. He scored a double hundred recently,” Raja said on his YouTube channel.
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