It might only be a year but, life has come a full-circle for India’s Under-19-star Shubman Gill. The Player of the Tournament from the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand last year, earned his maiden India call-up for the Tour of New Zealand, courtesy a stellar outing in the domestic and first-class circuit.
The 19-year-old’s selection might have been under unexpected circumstances, but it hasn’t caught anyone by surprise. Whoever has seen him play over the last 12 months knows well that his elevation was inevitable, something which would have happened sooner or later.
During the World Cup in New Zealand, Shubman was adjudged the Player of the Tournament. He scored 372 runs in six matches at a whopping average of 124.00. It was his ton against Pakistan in the semi-final against Pakistan that sealed a final berth for his side.
Apart from his tryst with the bat in the World Cup, Shubman has been a star with bat for the Under-19 side. His tally of 1149 runs in 16 matches were just a sign of things to come.
After a great show at the Under-19 World Cup, Shubman continued his golden form with the bat in the first-class and list A matches this season. In these 12 months, the Punjab batsman has not only managed to impress the selectors with his arrays of shots, but also with his adaptability in batting at different positions in the batting line-up.
The world witnessed his batting prowess and his penchant for big scores during the Under-19 World Cup, but it was the Indian Premier League, the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the Deodhar Trophy and the Ranji Trophy which has given him the opportunity to make an international debut only 14 months after his first-class debut.
So far, Shubman has played nine first-class matches, which include seven Ranji Trophy matches and two matches for India A, and has gone on to score at least fifty runs in each of them. His tally now stands at 1089 runs at an average of 77.78. In these nine matches, he has scored three centuries and seven fifties at a healthy strike-rate of 77.28.
As far as Ranji Trophy is concerned, Shubman couldn’t have asked for a better beginning. In his debut match for his state Punjab, he scored a 63 against Bengal and followed it up with a century in his next match against Services. All this happened in 2017, two months before the World Cup in New Zealand.
In the ongoing season, Shubman started off with 56 and 54 against Andhra. Coming back after India A Tour to New Zealand, Shubman went on to score a mammoth 268 against Tamil Nadu, his highest first-class score till date. After missing out in the first innings against Hyderabad, Shubman was back in his elements with a classy 148 in the second innings. After 69 not out against Kerala, Shubman breached the 1000-run mark in his 15 innings, with a 91 against Bengal.
As said earlier, Shubman’s adaptability and his supremacy with the bat in all formats escalated his move into the top rung of Indian cricket. Like his first-class career, he has equally illustrious List A career. Shubman made his debut in List A cricket as early February 2017. Since then he has played 36 matches and scored 1529 runs at an average of 47.78. He has gone on to score four centuries and seven half-centuries.
As part of the Under-19 side, Shubman has enjoyed great run in overseas condition too. During a tour to England, earlier this year, he amassed 278 runs in four innings, to become the highest run getter. He even fared well against visiting sides while representing India B.
If all this wasn’t enough, Shubman was picked up by two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders for a hefty sum of Rs 1.8 crore while he was in New Zealand for the Under-19 World Cup. It was the Kolkata franchisee that Shubman, who never batted down the order, metamorphosed into a more complete batsman. He was tasked with the job of finishing the innings while he batted a lower-down the order at number seven.
It’s not certain yet that Shubman will make his debut in New Zealand, but if he does it won’t be a surprise if he follows the footsteps of his Under-19 captain, Prithvi Shaw. And why not? When you have better numbers than Sachin Tendulkar after nine first-class matches, you too are expected to do super human stuff.
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