The young Indian opener Shubman Gill has impressed everyone with his wonderful performances for the Indian cricket team. On Sunday, he registered his second 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 third international ton off just 89 deliveries. He smashed 11 boundaries and two sixes to reach his hundred. His previous ODI century came in the month of August last year when he hit 130 runs against Zimbabwe.
Image source – Twitter
Meanwhile, the young talent has been making a lot of news these days as he has become a fan favorite thanks to his stunning performances. As fans are always curious to know about the personal lives of cricketers, so today, The Cricket Lounge brings you the lesser known facts about Gill and his inspiring cricketing journey so far.
Image source – wikibuff.com
Shubman Gill’s early life and fatherhood played a major role in shaping his career:
Shubman Gill was born in a village near Jalalabad of Fazilka district in Punjab. His father Lakhwinder set up a cricket ground on his farm for Gill, where he practised. During his childhood, Gill would challenge his father, challenge the boys of his village to take Gill’s port and if they were successful, he would give them 100 rupees for it.
Image source – TOI
Not many are aware of the fact that Shubman Gill’s own father Lakhwinder wanted to play the game professionally, but lack of opportunities thwarted his dream. He played a major role in shaping Gill’s cricket career. Even now, whenever Gill is in doubt about cricketing matters, he consults his father. In fact, his father Lakhwinder Singh was so confident in his son’s talent that he quit 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 academy of the Punjab cricket association.
Image source – TOI
Once, Shubman’s father discovered how the young shooter began to use a stick at the age of three. He revealed:
“Shubman was interested in sports from a very young age. He started using a cane at the age of three. He never liked any other toy. He played with a bat and a ball even before he went to bed.”
“Seeing his interest in the game, I decided to train him. I used to make him play 500 to 700 balls every day. To make him adept at handling fast bowling, I used to bowl the ball on a charpoy. The ball tends to travel faster after sliding off the wrist. In addition, he practiced with a single log as a club. This helped Shubman find the middle of the bat more often than not.
Internal career
Shubman Gill started making noise with the bat from the early stages of his career. On his state U-16 debut for Punjab, he smashed an unbeaten century in the Vijay Merchant Trophy. In 2014, he scored 351 runs in the Punjab U-16 inter-district competition and also shared an opening stand record of 587 runs with Nirmal Singh.
Image Source – The Hindu
He made his List A debut for Punjab in the 2016–17 Vijay Hazare Trophy on 25 February 2017 against the Vidharbha team. On 17 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 first century for Punjab in a game against Services. This century came in just his second first-class match. He scored 129 runs against Bengal team.
Image source – Deccan Chronicle
The big IPL break
It was in January 2018, when Shubman was snapped up by Kolkata Knight Riders for ₹1.8 crore (US$230,000) in the IPL auction 2018. He made his T20 debut for KKR in the Indian Premier League 2018 and since then there has been no turning back back for the new guy. He was an integral part of KKR, however, ahead of the IPL 2022 auction, Gill left Kolkata Knight Riders and was drafted by the newly formed franchise Gujarat Titans. He was part of the IPL 2022 winning team 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. A month after this feat, he was named in India’s Test squad for their series against South Africa, but he did not play.
Image Source – News 18
Gill finally made his Test debut for the Indian cricket team on 26 December 2020 in the iconic series against Australia, where he helped his side to 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 headlines with his dating rumours. He was rumored to be dating Sara Tendulkar, who is the daughter of betting legend Sachin Tendulkar. While they never confirmed the relationship, the speculation was always there. According to reports, the two 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 several times and the dating rumors have been going on for a long time now. While speculation is rife, both Sara and Gill have remained tight-lipped about their relationship.
