Shubman Gill is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-hand, top-order batsman from Punjab. He made his first-class debut for Punjab against Bengal in the 2017–18 Ranji Trophy, in late 2017, with a half-century in the game and 129 runs in the next match against Services. He made his international debut for the India cricket team in January 2019. He was drafted into India's Under-19 side as the vice-captain for the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. Shubman scored 372 runs at an average of 124.00 at the 2018 ICC U-19 World Cup, where he batted at number three to play a crucial role in India's record fourth world title and was adjudged the edition's Player of the Tournament. His match-winning 102 not out in the semi-final against arch-rivals Pakistan U-19 drew praises from batting greats like Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V. V. S. Laxman, and Sourav Ganguly.
Early life
Shubman was born in Fazilka, Punjab. His family owned agricultural lands there. His father, Lakhwinder Singh, an agriculturist, wanted to become a cricketer but could not fulfil his dream. He then decided to make his son, Shubman Gill, a cricketer. He would ask the hired help on the farm to throw balls at Gill to help him practice batting. Gill's father was convinced of his talent, and moved the family to Mohali and rented a house near the PCA Stadium. Gill's father said that Shubman was passionate about cricket since the age of three. “He only played cricket since he was three-years-old. Kids of that age would play with toys. He never asked for such things. It was only bat and ball for him. He used to sleep with a bat and ball”, Gill's father, Lakhwinder Singh said. On his Under-16 state debut for Punjab, he hit an unbeaten double-century in the Vijay Merchant Trophy. In 2014, he scored 351 runs in Punjab's Inter-District Under-16 competition and shared a record opening stand of 587 runs with Nirmal Singh.
Domestic career
He made his List A debut for Punjab in the 2016–17 Vijay Hazare Trophy on 25 February 2017. He made his first-class debut for Punjab in the 2017–18 Ranji Trophy on 17 November 2017. Later the same month, in his second first-class match, he scored his maiden century, batting for Punjab against Services. In January 2018, he was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders for in the 2018 IPL auction. He made his Twenty20 debut for Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2018 Indian Premier League on 14 April 2018. In October 2018, he was named in India C's squad for the 2018–19 Deodhar Trophy. In the final round-robin match, against India A, he scored an unbeaten century to help send India C through to the final. The following month, he was named as one of eight players to watch ahead of the 2018–19 Ranji Trophy. In December 2018, during Punjab's match against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy, Gill scored his maiden double century in first-class cricket, scoring 268 runs. On 25 December 2018, on the fourth day of the match against Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy, with Punjab needing 338 runs from 57 overs, Gill scored 148 off 154 balls to almost single-handedly take his side to victory. The match finished as a draw, with Punjab ending the run chase at 324/8 in 57 overs. By 1 January 2019, Gill had scored 990 runs in first-class cricket, from fourteen innings across eight matches. One week later, he scored his 1,000th run in first-class cricket, in his fifteenth innings. He was the leading run-scorer for Punjab in the 2018–19 Ranji Trophy, with 728 runs in five matches. In March 2019, he was named as one of eight players to watch by the International Cricket Council ahead of the 2019 Indian Premier League tournament. He also won the Emerging Player of the tournament award in the 2019 Indian Premier League. In August 2019, he was named as the captain of the India Blue team for the 2019–20 Duleep Trophy. In October 2019, Gill was selected as the captain of the India C team for the 2019–20 Deodhar Trophy. In November 2019, he became the youngest cricketer to lead a side in the tournament. He was 20 years and 57 days old, beating Virat Kohli's record, when he was 21 years 124 days old, during the 2009–10 tournament.
International career
In February 2017, he was part of the Indian U-19 series win against England U-19. In December 2017, he was named vice captain of India's squad for the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. He was the leading run-scorer for India in the tournament, with 372 runs. He was also named the player of the tournament. Following India's matches in the tournament, the International Cricket Council named Gill as the rising star of the squad. In January 2019, Gill was added to India's squad for the limited-overs leg for their series against New Zealand. On 31 January 2019, he made his One Day International cricket debut against New Zealand in the fourth ODI match of the series at Seddon Park, Hamilton. In August 2019, Gill became the youngest batsman for an Indian team to score a double century in a first-class match. 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. The following month, he was named in India's Test squad for their series against South Africa, but he did not play. In December 2019, Gill was named as the captain of India A squad for their tour of New Zealand. In February 2020, he was again named in India's Test squad, this time for their series against New Zealand.
