ICC U-19 World Cup: Shubman Gill heroics cheered on by bleary-eyed dad | Cricket - Hindustan Times
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ICC U-19 World Cup: Shubman Gill heroics cheered on by bleary-eyed dad

Hindustan Times, Chandigarh | By
Jan 19, 2018 11:48 PM IST

Shubman Gill’s impressive performance helped India defeat Zimbabwe in their ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup group stage encounter on Friday.

Braving the winter chill, Lakhwinder Singh Gill has been waking up before dawn and watching TV since the ICC under-19 World Cup began in New Zealand because he doesn’t want to miss a moment of his son Shubman Gill’s performance for India.

Shubman Gill(ICC)
Shubman Gill(ICC)

READ | ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup: Shubman Gill, Anukul Roy shine as India beat Zimbabwe

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Friday morning was particularly rewarding for him as the 18-year-old Shubman hit backfoot punches and flawless straight drives in scoring a 59-ball 90 not out, powering India to a 10-wicket win over Zimbabwe at Mount Maunganui.

Vice-captain Shubman, a middle-order batsman, was promoted with Harvik Desai to open in place of captain Prithvi Shaw and Manjot Kalra by coach Rahul Dravid. And they chased down Zimbabwe’s total of 155 runs with ease.

READ | ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup: Prithvi Shaw confident of India’s chances in quarters

“Shubman had prepared for the U-19 World Cup for the last one-and-half years. The camps at National Cricket Academy, exposure tours and Dravid’s inputs have helped him become a focused cricketer. He has not taken sugar in the last one-and- half years. He follows a strict diet and fitness regime. He takes boiled veggies, oats, proteins and vitamins. Being Punjabis, we gorge on sarson ka saag, rajmah rice, desi ghee and white butter, but he has not touched them for a long time. Cricket is his life. He feels he should not cheat as he wants to make his dream come true,” said Lakhwinder, a Mohali-based agriculturalist.

Shubman idolises Indian captain Virat Kohli for his skill and fitness.

The Gills shifted from a remote place called Jalalabad in Punjab’s Ferozepur district to Mohali a decade ago for his son to pursue cricket.

Shubman had a brilliant outing against Australia too in the opening World Cup game, hitting a 54-ball 63. The Punjab batsman was top-scorer in last year’s Youth ODI series in England, averaging 92.66. This prompted Punjab selectors include him in the Ranji Trophy team.

However, he suffered a side strain and could play just two Ranji matches. The stylish batsman scored his maiden Ranji century against Services. “He is aware of the road ahead. He loves playing the rising deliveries. I knew Shubman would make use of the chance and shine. He needs to do this consistently in the tournament and help India win the trophy,” said his father.

Shubman grabbed headlines first when he was involved in a world-record opening stand of 587 runs in the U-16 Punjab inter-district tournament with Nirmal Singh a few years back. He has been spoken of highly in cricket circles since then. “I had to face the ire of my relatives in the village when we decided to move to Mohali for Shubman. I hope all efforts yield results in the end. He is best friends with his Punjab teammate Abhishek Sharma. They are each other’s best critics. Both can be crucial for India in the later stages of the tournament,” added Gill.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Shalini Gupta is a member of the Chandigarh sports team and has been a sports journalist for 10 years. She mainly writes on cricket.

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