Former Indian all-rounder and World Cup winner Yuvraj Singh has heaped compliments on the emerging batting star Shubman Gill in anticipation of the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup.
At barely 24 years old, Shubman Gill remains as India’s top-ranked batsman in the 50-over format, with only Babar Azam ahead of him in the ICC rankings. Yuvraj Singh believes in Gill’s talent to emerge as the standout player of this generation. The former cricketer also highlighted that from a young age, Gill has put in four times the effort compared to most individuals, displaying his extraordinary work ethic.
“Shubman Gill has the potential to become the best player of this generation. The guy works hard. Since he was 19-20, his attitude has always been like that. He works four times harder than a normal guy since he was a kid. Whatever I have worked with him, he can be the player of this era,” Yuvraj told The Week.
In the recently passed Asia Cup 2023, Gill had a brilliant run with the bat as he registered his fifth ODI century against Bangladesh. He also became the first batter to make 1000 runs in ODIs in 2023. Add to that, the Punjab-based batter also became the first batsman to get five plus international hundreds in the same year.
Yuvraj also praised Gill’s impressive performance during his maiden Test series in Australia back in December 2020. The young cricketer played a pivotal role, scoring a crucial 91 runs in the fourth Test at the Gabba, contributing significantly to India’s historic victory.
“He (Gill) scored 91 in a Test match which India won. He scored two fifties as well on his first tour to Australia which I don’t know how many players have done. I am sure he will score runs in Australia, South Africa as well as England,” he further added.
Yuvraj who was the Player of the Tournament during India’s victorious World Cup run in 2011, suggested that Gill has the potential to be a game-changer for the Indian team in the upcoming World Cup event.
“He (Gill) is in such a stage right now that he is fearless. He can be a game-changer for India in the World Cup. He opened up the game against Pakistan and put the bowlers under pressure,” the former cricketer concluded.
In the upcoming ODI World Cup starting on October 5, Shubman Gill is set to partner with Captain Rohit Sharma as India’s opening batsman. His impressive ODI record boasts 1917 runs in just 35 matches, with an outstanding average of 66.10. Remarkably, at the age of 24, Gill holds the distinction of being the sole cricketer to achieve the feat of scoring 1000 ODI runs in the year 2023.
