Shubman Gill

Another star from the 2018 batch of U19 World Cup-winning Indian team, Shubman Gill, is renowned for his sound technique and classy stroke-making.  

An appetite for runs matched with a temperament rated way beyond his years – Gill has all the makings of a star cricketer. As described by multiple cricketing legends as a superstar in the making, we can specifically say that this young prodigy is destined for greater achievements in the future.

Gill was recognized by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) management for his excellent form in the U19 World Cup that Indian team won in New Zealand and the franchise bagged his services for INR 1.8 crore.

 From there on, the young prodigy from Punjab made a buzz in the cricketing world. Even the pundits have stated that this wonder kid is going to be one of the prime batsmen in world cricket.

Among the current pool of top cricketing talents in India, Gill’s name tops the list. In the U16 Inter-District tournament, he scored 351 runs during an outing, back in 2014. 

Even on his U16 state debut for Punjab, he smashed an unbeaten double century in the 2014 Vijay Merchant Trophy. Gill made his List A debut for Punjab in the 2016–17 Vijay Hazare Trophy. Subsequently, he made his first-class debut for Punjab in the 2017–18 Ranji Trophy, the same year.

After dominating List-A cricket for a year, in 2018, Shubman was named in India C’s squad for the 2018–19 Deodhar Trophy. His form enabled him to make an entry in the 2018–19 Ranji Trophy. 

The Firozpur-born made the country proud in the U19 World Cup in 2018. He was the leading run-getter in the tournament with 372 runs and was adjudged as the ‘Player of the Tournament’. 

In his debut season in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018, he amassed 296 runs at an average of 33 in 14 matches. 

A splendid debut season saw the youngster being included in the limited-overs format for India against New Zealand in January 2019. 

Later that month, he made his ODI debut against New Zealand in a horrific display of batting by team India when they were bundled out for just 92 runs. 

It was only in the 2020 edition of the IPL when the whole world got a glimpse of the future star. The flamboyant batsman amassed 440 runs in his third season of the IPL and became the top run-getter for KKR. 

After travelling for almost a year with India’s Test squad, he finally made his Test debut against Australia on December 26th, 2020, helping his team comeback from behind and win the second Test match of the series. 

Gill’s career-defining moment came in the final Test of the series, when he and Rishabh Pant snatched victory from the hands of Aussies on Day 5. 

He scored 91 runs to help India win the Test series which seemed impossible at one stage. A year later, the Fazilka-born made his ODI debut and notched up his maiden Test century against Bangladesh in the same year. The following year marked his first outing in the Twenty over format.

On January 18, Gill became the fifth Indian batter to garner a double century in ODIs, and it came against New Zealand. He also became the youngest player to do so in ODIs.

The batter was released by KKR ahead of IPL 2022 but he proved them wrong by helping Gujarat Titans win the trophy. He amassed 483 runs, the second highest for Gujarat Titans, in 16 games in that season. 

Gill’s best season in IPL came in 2023, where he won the Orange Cap after scoring 890 runs in 17 matches. 

He scored 890 runs in 17 innings, the second-most by a batter in a single IPL season.

After failing with the bat in the World Test Championship 2021-23 final versus Australia, he willingly changed his batting position to No.3 from opening. 

Soon the ODI World Cup 2023 came and Gill found himself at the center of the limelight as the tournament was being seen as his first big test in international cricket. He got diagnosed with dengue and missed the first few games. However, he recovered well and opened for India at the grandest stage of them all, against Pakistan.

Gill amassed 354 runs in nine innings at a strike-rate of 106.95. This included an unbeaten 66-ball 80 in the semi-final clash against New Zealand. 

A first major blow in his career came when he got dropped from the T20I team in Afghanistan series due to his below-average returns in the format. He had been struggling in Test cricket as well with no big score lately threatening his chances to retain his place in India’s XI. The stylish right-hander made a brilliant comeback in the red-ball format, amassing 452 runs in 9 innings against England at the start of 2024. 

Ahead of IPL 2024, Gill was named as the captain of Gujarat Titans as Hardik Pandya left the franchise to join Mumbai Indians. 

(As of May 2024)