Former Indian batting coach Sanjay Manjrekar recalled the first-ever net session of star opener Shubman Gill for the national senior side, reminiscing his impressive performance against throwdown specialists that left coach Ravi Shastri in awe. Bangar, who had multiple stints with the Indian coaching set-up in 2010s, was speaking in a video posted by Star Sports.
In the video posted by Star Sports on their official X handle, Bangar said, “The first glimpse of Shubman Gill we had during his first net session for India, there is a tradition in India that during the nets session, if you want that approval, you will have to do well against throwdown specialists, who bowl really fast. And unhone uss nets session mein, jo ek screen test hota haina, aise patakhe bajaye the (during that session, which is a screen test of sorts, he produced such incredible shots). Ravi Shastri was like, ek tayaar player mill gya humein (we have got a ready-made player). Such was his first impact.”
Gill, since his 2019 debut for India following an impactful 2018 U19 World Cup, where he was the ‘Player of the Tournament’ with 372 runs in six matches, has come a long way and has become one of country’s premier all-format players.
In 101 international matches, Gill has scored 4,886 runs in 128 innings at an average of 42.85 and a strike rate of 82.00, with 12 centuries and 24 fifties. His best score is 208.
His ODI record stands out loud, having made 2,415 runs in 48 matches and 48 innings at an average of 58.90, with six centuries and 14 fifties, with best score of 208. He is the fastest player to achieve 2,000 ODI runs in the world, in just 38 innings. He is also the youngest ODI double centurion.
He is in the elite list of Indian players to have centuries in all international cricket formats.
Gill does need some improvements in his Test statistics, as they do not reflect his true talent. In 32 Tests and 59 innings, he has made 1,893 runs at an average of 35.05, with five centuries and seven fifties and best score of 128. In 21 T20Is, he has made 578 runs at an average of 30.42, with a strike rate of 139.27. He has a century and three fifties in the format.
During his last ODI appearance against England on Thursday, he played a fine knock of 87 in 96 balls during a tense run-chase of 249 runs, during which India was restricted to 19/2.
Gill will be in action during the second ODI at Cuttack on Sunday.
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