Shubman Gill – The 19 Years Old Cricket Sensation

Shubman Gill is a 19 years old cricketer. There are a lot of similarities in the playing style of Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli. Both of them have the ability to hit a ball - pitched just outside the off-stump - through the extra cover as well as the mid-wicket region. On observing the still pictures of each of their play, one will not be able to make out the difference.

Each and every shot looks identical. Shubman has many a times confessed that he is a very big fan of Virat Kohli. Lately, when Shubman’s name got finalised for the upcoming ODI and T20 series, and he received a call in furtherance of the same, he started dancing in joy. He got super excited because this was the time when he could actually live his dream of playing with Virat Kohli and sharing the dressing room with him. He stated that it is a beyond comparison feeling. Virat is his role model and he wishes to be like Virat one day. He stated that this is a golden opportunity for him as now he will be able to learn directly from Virat, all of that which he once dreamt of. He will not have to anymore learn from Virat’s youtube videos. He is hopeful of doing well in the upcoming matches and hopes that he will get an opportunity to play in the World Cup 2019. Shubman is an opening batsman and is comfortable in playing in the beginning, but he is equally okay if he is given a chance to play in the middle or by the end. He stated that he will give his best and maximise the chances of victory of the team to the best of his capability. Shubman is in great form presently. In the Ranji trophy, his performance was extra ordinary. He scored 728 runs in 5 matches (9 innings) at an average of 104. The strike-rate - 77.88 - has also been commendable. When Times of India asked Shubman about his reaction on receiving the news of his selection, he stated that he was just going to sleep that night, when suddenly at 1 am he received a message from the reporters that he has been selected. He stated that on hearing the news, he went into shock for a fraction of minutes. He then went and informed his father about it. Despite the information from the reporters, he still could not believe the news of his selection, until he received a confirmation call from BCCI. New Zealand is a very lucky country for Shubman as the Indian team had won the U-19 world cup for India in 2018 in New Zealand. Towards the end of his interview, he thanked Rahul Dravid and stated that he has helped him a lot in improvising his game. He has been there for the past 2 years with him. He stated that Dravid understands his batting quite well and makes sure that his skills improve day by day.

By: Anuja Arora

Content: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/india-in-new-zealand/rahul-dravids-influence-helped-my-batting-evolve-shubman-gill/articleshow/67519969.cms