It seems like a lifelong ago when an 18-year-old from Punjab alarmed the cricketing world with his batting talent, leading the run charts at the U19 World Cup. Shubman Gill, the opener was soon seen as the next big thing in Indian cricket.
Since then the buzz around him has been real, strong performances in the IPL and the domestic earned him a spot in the Australia Test series back in 2021, the role he fulfilled rightly however, that wasn’t the case back home and he eventually lost his place to KL Rahul.
But how can a talent hailed by Virat Kohli himself warm the benches forever? Shubman Gill created havoc in the ODI format with mounts of runs and also became the youngest Indian male cricketer to score a double century against New Zealand and continued his magic spree in the T20Is.
The longest format also welcomed him with open arms when Rohit Sharma was injured in the Bangladesh series and again when KL Rahul was dropped in the middle of the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar series. Despite looking solid in the tough Indore wickets, the wait for runs in India continued and there came the fourth test which many believe has solidified his place for India in all three formats.
‘Centuries in all formats’- Sunil Gavaskar
Shubman slammed a splendid 128 runs with 12 fours and a six to pretty much book his spot for the WTC final but the former Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar believes the commitment is going to be for much longer while having an interaction with Sports Tak.
“He’s only 23, he’s young and with the kind of form he has shown in pretty much all the formats, scoring centuries in ODIs, T20Is, and Test, it appears that Rohit Sharma’s partner for the next few years is sealed.” said Sunil Gavaskar.
Who will be the wicketkeeper?
While the matter for the opening slot may have been solved, India is still to find a wicketkeeper in absence of Rishabh Pant. KS Bharat who was chosen for the recent series did not quite live up to the expectations while giving uncapped Ishan Kishan might not prove to be a wise decision in the finals.
Solving the misery, Gavaskar further suggested keeping the experienced opener KL Rahul in the XI as the wicket-keeper and batter at 5 or 6 given that the WTC finals will be held in England where the 30-year-old has an impressive record.