Young Indian opener Shubman Gill has impressed one and all with his terrific performances for the Indian cricket team. On Sunday, he registered his 2nd ODI century in the final match of the ongoing 3-match series against Sri Lanka This was Gill’s first century of 2023 and his 3rd international ton off just 89 deliveries. He smashed 11 boundaries and two sixes to reach the hundred. His previous ODI century came in the month of August, last year when he smashed 130 runs against Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, the young talent has been making a lot of news these days as he has become a fan favorite, all thanks to his stunning performances. Since fans are always curious to know about the personal lives of the cricketers, so, today, The Cricket Lounge brings you the lesser-known facts about Gill and his inspiring cricketing journey so far.
Early Life And How Shubman Gill’s Father Played A Big Role In Shaping His Career:
Shubman Gill was born in a village near Jalalabad of Fazilka district in Punjab. His father Lakhwinder created a cricket ground on his farm for Gill, where he used to practice. During his childhood, Gill used to challenge his father used to challenge his village boys to take Gill’s wicket and if they were successful he would give them 100 rupees for it.
Not many are aware of the fact that Shubman Gill’s father Lakhwinder himself wanted to play the game professionally but a lack of opportunities pipped his dream. He played a huge role in shaping Gill’s cricketing career. Even now, whenever Gill is in doubt over cricketing matters he consults his father. In fact, his father Lakhwinder Singh was so confident in his son’s talent that he left farming and moved to Mohali to make Shubman a professional cricketer. Initially, Gill took coaching from his school, but later his father admitted him to the Punjab cricket association’s academy.
Once Shubman’s father revealed how the young batter started wielding a bat at the age of three. He revealed:
“Shubman was interested in the sport since a very young age. He started wielding a bat at the age of three. He never liked any other toy. He would play with a bat and a ball even before going to bed.”
“Seeing his interest in the game, I decided to train him. I made him play 500 to 700 balls every day. To make him adept at handling fast bowling, I used to throw the ball over a manji (charpoy). The ball tends to travel faster after skidding off the charpoy. Besides that, he practcised with a single stump as his bat. That helped Shubman in finding the middle of the bat more often than not,”
Domestic Career
Shubman Gill started making noise with the bat from the early stages of his career. On his Under-16 state debut for Punjab, he smashed an unbeaten double-century in the Vijay Merchant Trophy. In 2014, he scored 351 runs in Punjab’s Inter-District Under-16 competition and also shared a record of the opening stand of 587 runs with Nirmal Singh.
He made his List A debut for Punjab in the 2016–17 Vijay Hazare Trophy on 25 February 2017 against the Vidharbha team. On 17th November 2017, he made his first-class debut for Punjab in the 2017-2018 edition of the Ranji Trophy. He didn’t take long to score his maiden century. In the same month, he registered his maiden century for Punjab in a game against Services. This century came in his second first-class match only. He scored 129 runs against the Bengal team.
The Big IPL Break
It was in January 2018, when Shubman was ought by the Kolkata Knight Riders for ₹1.8 crore (US$230,000) in the 2018 IPL auction. He made his T20 debut for KKR in the 2018 Indian Premier League and since then there has been no turning back for the young lad. He was an integral part of the KKR, however, ahead of the 2022 IPL auction, Gill left the Kolkata Knight Riders and was drafted by the newly formed Gujarat Titans franchise. He was a part of the IPL 2022 winning squad of Gujarat Titans.
International Career:
Shubman has been very impressive in the blue jersey as well. After making his debut in January 2019 in the ODI format, Shubman became the youngest batsman for an Indian team to score a double century in a first-class match.[55] He was 19 years and 334 days old when he scored 204 runs for India A against West Indies A at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad and Tobago in August 2019. One month after this achievement, he was named to India’s Test squad for their series against South Africa but he didn’t play.
Gill finally made his Test debut for the Indian cricket team on 26th December 2020 in the iconic series against Australia, where he helped his side to make a memorable comeback win in the second match of the series. He also scored 91 runs in the historic Gabba match to help India win the series. Gill made his Twenty20 International debut on 3 January 2023 in the T20I series against Sri Lanka.
Personal Life:
Apart from his professional life, Shubman Gill never fails to grab the headlines with his dating rumors. He was rumored to be dating Sara Tendulkar, who is the daughter of batting legend Sachin Tendulkar. While they never confirmed the relationship, speculations were always there. As per the reports, both of them have parted ways with each other. In fact, both stars have unfollowed each other on Instagram.
He now seems to have found love again but in another Sara. Yes, in the past few months, Gill has been spotted with Bollywood actress Sara Ali Khan a number of times and the rumors of both dating each other have been going on for quite a long time now. While speculations are rife, both Sara and Gill have remained tightlipped about their bond.
