Shubman Gill has taken the world of cricket by storm of late. The 23 year old has gone from being an extremely talented youngster to a prolific run scorer across formats in a very short time.
Shubman made his international debut in an ODI vs New Zealand in January 2019. Since then he has already featured in 13 Tests, 21 ODIs and 6 T20Is and has smashed 1 Test century, 4 ODI centuries and 1 T20I ton.
He is also one of only 10 male batters to have scored an ODI double century (208 vs NZ in Hyderabad). When he scored a brilliant 126* vs New Zealand in the 3rd and final T20I which was also the series decider, he became just the fifth Indian male batter to score centuries across all 3 formats, joining the likes of Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul.
His score of 126* also broke Virat Kohli's record for the highest individual T20I score by an Indian male batter.
It was no surprise then to hear former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan praise Shubman and say that he is as talented as Virat Kohli.
"The way he (Shubman) is batting, I am a huge fan of his. I am repeatedly saying that he can become an all-format player for you. Virat Kohli ruled all formats for many years; this batter has as much potential. To convert that into performance is a different thing," Pathan told Star Sports recently.
1/7:Shubman Gill’s top knocks across all formats
2/7:130 vs Zimbabwe (Harare, ODI)
<p>Shubman Gill’s maiden century was scored against a promising Zimbabwe side in the 3rd ODI of the series last year. His classy 130 helped India get to a match-winning score of 289. During his knock, he struck 15 boundaries and a six. Gill also had a score of 82 in the series.<br /><br /><br /></p>
3/7:110 against Bangladesh (Chattogram, Test)
<p>Shubman’s heroic 91 vs Aus in 2021 was just a trailer of his potential in the longest format of the game. The real picture came on the Bangladesh tour in 2022 when he scored his first Test ton in the 1st test in Chattogram. He struck 10 boundaries and 3 sixes in his 110 run knock.<br /></p>Getty Images
4/7:116 against Sri Lanka (Thiruvananthapuram, ODI)
<p>In the 3rd ODI against the Lankan lions, the Indian opener scored the second hundred of his ODI career. In partnership with Virat Kohli, Gill helped India get to a mammoth score of 390. It was the first glimpse of Gill's aggression. In his 116 run knock, he struck 14 boundaries and a couple of sixes.<br /></p>AFP
5/7:208 against New Zealand (Hyderabad, ODI)
<p>The world witnessed the “Gill Storm” for the first time in ODIs. Gill scored a swashbuckling 208 off 149 balls against the then-No.1 ODI team New Zealand. With this inning, Gill became the fifth Indian player to get to a double hundred in ODIs. He also became the youngest player to score a double hundred in the format. He struck 19 boundaries and 9 sixes in his heroic knock of 208.<br /></p>AP
6/7:112 against New Zealand (Indore, ODI)
<p>In a dead rubber game in Indore, Gill yet again showed his class by scoring 112 off 78 balls. On a batting friendly pitch in Indore, Gill along with skipper Rohit Sharma, who also scored a century, plundered big runs. In his fantastic knock of 112, Gill struck 13 boundaries and 5 sixes. He was also named Man of the series.<br /><br /><br /></p>AFP
7/7:126* against New Zealand (Ahmedabad, T20I)
<p>In a series decider vs the Kiwis, Gill showed just how rich his current vein of form is by smashing his first T20I century in Ahmedabad. He became the youngest player to score a century in T20Is. Gill during his 126* knock, struck 12 fours & 7 sixes. Gill also became just the 5th Indian batsman to score centuries in all formats.<br /><br /><br /></p>AFPWhat is really heartening to see is that Gill is now translating his potential into performances on a very regular basis. He is very simply in an extremely rich vein of form.
In the recently concluded ODI series vs New Zealand, Gill was the overall highest run-getter with 360 runs in 3 innings, at an average of 180 and a strike rate of over 128. He hit 38 fours and 14 sixes in that series.
In the T20I series vs New Zealand, which India won 2-1, Gill was once again the overall series leading run-getter, with 144 runs in 3 innings, at an average of 72 and a strike rate of 185. He hit 15 fours and 7 sixes in that series.
It's safe to say that the 23 year old, who was part of the victorious Indian ICC U-19 World Cup squad of 2018, where he was the vice captain, has truly come of age.
"That (transforming potential into performances) happens with time, but Shubman Gill has started to do that. He scored his first century in August. Gill has now scored a total of six centuries in international cricket, and we have just started February, where all other players have scored just four international centuries," Irfan Pathan further said on Star Sports.
Shubman is currently ranked 6th in the ICC Men's ODI batting rankings, one place ahead of Virat Kohli.
