Meet Shubman Gill, from boy next door to cricket's new poster boy

From bat to billboard, from Tendulkar to Kohli, and now over to Gill

In 2015, the U-16 team from Punjab arrived at Dharamsala’s scenic Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium for an exposure trip. Amid the motley bunch of youngsters was a wiry 15-year-old Shubman Gill. Calm, watchful, and armed with a willow, he was a picture of concentration at the nets.

 

Even then, his gorgeous cover drives and silken flicks made heads turn. 

 

Former HPCA secretary Sumit Sharma made a bold assertion: “Shubman ki batting dekhoge toh Virat Kohli ko bhool jaoge. (Watch Shubman bat, and you will forget Virat Kohli).”

 

A decade later, Sharma’s prophecy no longer seems outlandish. 

 

Gill, appointed