File photo by Shubman Gill©AFP
Indian cricket team batsman Shubman Gil enjoyed a brilliant run of form in the recently concluded five-match Test series against England with two crucial centuries. It was a great outing for the youngster who has faced plenty of criticism since his replacement Cheteshwar Pujara at No. 3. It was a new challenge for Gill as he mainly opened the batting for India in other formats and he did not score many runs initially. However, he proved his mettle against England and his knocks were crucial in securing the series victory. Although his batting was highly praised by experts and fans, Ravichandran Ashwin highlighted another key role where he replaced Virat Kohli and showed themselves to be brilliant and promising.
“Short mid-wicket is Virat Kohli’s position. It is very difficult to replace it. Virat and (Suresh) Raina. (Shubman) Gill started there in the first Test, and he looked very uncomfortable. In the final test, he got it (as Vijay tells Sivakarthikeyan). He also spotted (Ben) Duckett on the covers. It shows that he wants to improve his game every day and he is working on it,” Ashwin said.
Ashwin also said that Gill is bound to be the “next superstar of Indian cricket” as he has handled pressure brilliantly during his “journey”.
“I congratulate Shubman Gill even more because he saw the ups and downs of the match. People have been discussing his position in the XI. He also had some technical problems. He rose above all that to become what he is today, like gold melts in flames and water. And for someone who will surely be the next superstar of Indian cricket, as people are projecting him to be, this is a very important journey for him. He handled the pressure and massive applause is for him,” Ashwin said.
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