India’s Shubman Gill plays a shot during the ICC Champions Trophy cricket match between India and Pakistan at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Former India player Sanjay Bangar heaped praises on India ODI vice-captain Shubman Gill and said that the Punjab player will lead the Indian team’s batting in the years to come. The 25-year-old continued his stellar performances in the ODI format when he made a classy 46 against Pakistan on Sunday.
“Clearly, he’s the guy who is going to shoulder the responsibility of the Indian team going forward in years to come,” Bangar said on JioHotstar.
“(His) foundations are really, really strong and add to that the confidence of nearly two-and-a-half years of performing in one-day cricket. In one-day cricket, he’s been phenomenal. Now look, the straight drive, the on-drive are the shots wherein you cannot actually hit the ball really hard. But here, he was hitting the ball so hard that despite the mid-off and the mid-on fielder being on that 30-yard circle, the ball was going and hitting them. That’s the kind of timing he possesses,” he added.
Before his steady innings against Pakistan, Gill had scored a century against Bangladesh in India’s Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh, helping his team to a win.
Last week, Gill had dethroned Pakistan’s Babar Azam from the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings by India. In the latest ICC rankings list, Gill has 796 rating points while Babar has 773. India skipper Rohit Sharma is ranked third with 761 points. South Africa’s Henrich Klaasen and New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell at fourth and fifth respectively.
“Look, see, nothing grows under a banyan tree and the banyan tree of Indian cricket is basically Rohit Sharma and with him, Virat Kohli. But when you look at Shubman Gill, those two straight drives, even the blistering cover drive, this is like a blitzkrieg where the opposition is taken aback, you know, it’s awe-inspiring,” Navjot Singh Sidhu said on JioHotstar.
“This man has emerged from the shadows of that banyan tree and has come of age. It’s tough to say that. You rate ability in men by what they finish, not by what they attempt. When you actually take your side through after scoring a hundred and don’t throw your wicket, that responsibility is making you better,” he added.
