India's rising star Shubman Gill, who was recently named the side's Test captain succeeding Rohit Sharma, has quickly established himself as a big thing in world cricket. And he recently proved his potential by leading India by example in the five-match Test series against England, which India drew 2-2. Apart from his leadership skills, Gill also demonstrated his batting acumen after he struck a record-breaking 269 in the first innings of the second Test, hardly making a mistake and shattering a whole host of records. Along with India's Test captaincy, Gill also is India's vice-captain in ODIs and T20Is.
Meanwhile, recently, recalling his early days, Gill revealed that his two cricketing idols have been the legendary Sachin Tendulkar and the batting great Virat Kohli, whom he admired the most.
"I have had two idols. The first one was Sachin Tendulkar. He was my dad's favorite, and I actually got into cricket because of him. He retired in 2013, and around 2011-2013 was actually when I really started to understand cricket properly, not just the skills, but also the mental and tactical side of the game," he said in a podcast on Apple Music.
"That was also the time I began following Virat Kohli closely. I loved watching the way he went about his business, the sheer passion he had for the game, and the hunger he carried. You can learn all the skills and all the technique, but hunger is something you either have or you don’t. Virat had it in abundance, and that really inspired me," he added.
Gill, who is also known as the "Prince" of Indian cricket, capped off the England series with 754 runs across five Tests at an average of 75.40. Currently, Gill is with Team India participating in the ongoing Asia Cup in the UAE.