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Shubam Gill
YB WEB DESK. Dated: 1/30/2024 8:25:58 AM
Shubman Gill is the latest prodigy of India's familial batting production line. He shot to fame with 418 runs at an average of 104.50 in the 2018 ICC U19 World Cup, where he served as Prithvi Shaw's deputy and batted at No. 3 to play a crucial role in India's record fourth world title. Also the edition's Player of the Tournament, Gill was a favourite in the 2018 IPL auctions and was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 1.8 crore (USD 280,000). Born in Fazilka, Punjab, Gill's precocious talents found an early fan in his father, Lakhwinder Singh, who shifted base to Mohali and rented a place near the PCA Stadium so that his son could grow up with better access to cricket. And it wasn't long until Gill started grabbing headlines. He scored 351 in Punjab's Inter-District U16 tournament in 2014, racking up an opening stand of 587 with Nirmal Singh, and then went on to strike a double hundred in his U16 debut for Punjab at the 2016 Vijay Merchant Trophy. Gill made his List A debut for Punjab in the 2016-17 Vijay Hazare Trophy, batting one-down, and went on to make his first-class debut in the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy against Bengal, where he batted as an opener to score his maiden halfcentury and stepped it up in just the next game with a maiden hundred against Services. Gill won the BCCI award for the Best Junior Cricketer for consecutive years in 2013-14 and 2014-15, knocking hard on the doors of the U19 team. When picked, Gill starred in India's handsome 3-1 win at home over England in the Youth ODIs, scoring 351 runs in 4 innings and then went on to match up to his high standards in his first tour of England soon after. India whitewashed the hosts 5-0 and Gill top-scored again with 278 runs across 4 innings. Gill easily looked the best batsman among his colleagues at the World Cup, comfortably overhauling even Prithvi Shaw, the 18-year-old Mumbai batsman who had the media houses buzzing with a whooping five first-class hundreds to his name. Gill's bottom-handed technique, made fashionably successful by Virat Kohli among many others, allowed him to play in a similar mould. He scored runs briskly, mixing quick singles and doubles with powerful hits across the ground, and stood out as much for his batting acumen as he did for his fielding prowess. Once back from the World Cup in New Zealand, Gill soon found himself returning to the unglamorous grind, representing Punjab in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He started the tournament with modest scores of 25, 4 and 8 but soon recovered, flaying a match-winning 123 against a rampant Karnataka.