‘I have had two idols. The first one was…’: Shubman Gill snubs Rohit Sharma, names Virat Kohli and ‘dad’s favourite'

In a podcast, Shubman Gill spoke about his two cricketing idols and snubbed Rohit Sharma.

Having taken over as Test skipper after the red-ball retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill is also India's vice-captain at the ongoing 2025 Asia Cup. Gill is considered to be among the best batters in modern-day cricket and he also won the 2025 Champions Trophy as vice-captain.

Virat kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill after a match. (PTI)

Recently in a podcast on Apple Music, Gill spoke about his admiration for Sachin Tendulkar and Kohli. He named the pair as his two cricketing idols.

"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 when I really started to understand cricket properly, not just the skills, but also the mental and tactical side of the game," he said.

"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 made his mark on his Test captaincy debut as India held England to a 2-2 draw. In the first Test, he got his first ton outside Asia, and he became only the fourth Indian, after Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar and Kohli, to score a ton in his debut innings as Test captain. In the second Test in Leeds, he got two tons and became the first Indian to do so outside Asia, and also the first skipper to get a double ton vs England in England.

In the fourth Test, he once again bagged a ton, which was also his fourth century of the series, which tied him with gavaskar and Don Bradman for most tons by a captain in a single Test series.