Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have come close to the end of their international careers, a point that, depending on their contributions and influence, will mark the end of an era and create a huge void that shall be insurmountable.
However, the Indian team management has started the process of identifying their successors. The only name that springs to mind is Shubman Gill, for whom the ODIs could be his making.
In the ongoing Champions Trophy, Gill, while opening alongside Rohit, has looked rather imperious with the bat.
He scored an unbeaten century against Bangladesh in India’s opening match, going on to anchor his side home comfortably with a 46 off 52 balls in a high-pressure game against Pakistan.
Sanjay Bangar, Indian allrounder and the team’s vice-captain, was quite impressed with Gill, assuring that he will carry the Indian team for several years to come.
“Sanjay Bangar told JioHotstar, ‘Clearly, he’s the one who is going to hold the responsibility on his shoulders going forward for Indian cricket for several years.’ (He has very strong fundamentals) along with a difficult 2-and-a-half-year journey to perform in other international formats too. He has performed terrific in one-day cricket and has established himself quite well in a short span of time.”
“The straight drive, the on-drive, are the strokes wherein you cannot actually put your back into hitting the ball hard. But here, he knew the timing was so perfect that before the mid-off or mid-on fielder could attempt to stop the ball from going to the boundary, it reached them. That is exactly the kind of timing he has,” he commented.
Shubman Gill has fully matured, another former India cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu believes.
“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 said.
“This man has emerged from the shadows of that banyan tree onto the field. It’s tough to talk about. One judges ability in men by what they finish, not by what they attempted. You take your side through after scoring a hundred and do not throw your wicket away. That responsibility must make a person better,” he added.
