One of the finest emerging batters in the world, Shuman Gill has made a name for himself before becoming a regular for the Indian team in any of the three formats. Having already left a mark with the limited opportunities he has earned in white-ball cricket, Gill showed that he is an all-format player as he bagged his maiden Test hundred, in the second innings of the match on Friday. Seeing Gill reach the triple-digit score for the first time in the traditional format of the game, former India batter Wasim Jaffer made a big prediction about his future.
Virat Kohli is widely considered as a modern-day great. While it was Sachin Tendulkar who made a name for himself in the previous generation of players, Kohli is the only one who has managed to come close to what Tendulkar could do with the bat. Jaffer, making a bold prediction, feels Gill will be the next superstar batter to come out of the Indian camp.
“Well, it’s good that it came. He missed out on a couple of opportunities before but I am happy that the monkey is off his back. He’s a class player. After Virat Kohli, he’ll probably be the next big batsman that’s gonna come out of the Indian camp. He’s like a three-format player for me,” Jaffer said in a discussion on ESPNCricinfo.
Gill opened the innings alongside KL Rahul as skipper Rohit Sharma wasn’t a part of the tema due to the injury he sustained in the ODIs. But, Jaffer feels Gill can also play in the middle-order for India, especially when Rohit returns.
“Shubman Gill has played in the middle order for his state team. He’ll get used to it. As an opener, if you are slotted in the middle order, it’s not a big deal because you’re used to playing spin,” he said.
Speaking of his own performance in the match, Gill said that scoring his maiden Test ton means a lot to him, having missed out on opportunities to do so before.
“I personally thought it (maiden Test century) was long time coming for me. Today it was all about getting the difficult situation out of the way. There weren’t any different thoughts (while batting in the 90s). For me, it was about how to play according to the field and then be able to score runs. It was very instinctive (to hit a couple of boundaries and get to the milestone). When the bowler came round the wicket, there was gap between third man and point.
“I hadn’t played it the whole innings. And once the field came in, I went over the fielders. When lunch happened, I was batting around 13. When I’d faced 100 balls, I was 70-odd, it’s about pacing the innings. You got to know when to attack as a batter. (The century) Means a lot to me, my family and my friends who have supported me. Special moment for any player – getting the maiden century here means a lot to m,” he said.
Courtesy of Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara‘s hundreds, India sit in a strong position against Bangladesh, having given them a target of 513 runs to chase.
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