Currently on international duty with the Indian cricket team, Shubman Gill surprised new Gujarat Titans recruit Robin Minz's father, Francis, at the Bisra Munda Airport in Ranchi on Wednesday. Francis is a retired army man, who has been working as a security official at the airport and met Gill, who was departing Ranchi after India's fourth Test match against England.
After Hardik Pandya departure to Mumbai Indians, Gill has taken over the captaincy role for GT. Gill took to Instagram to share a photograph of his meeting with Francis, and also had special praise.
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Posting the photo in his Instagram story, Gill wrote, “Honoured to meet Robin Minz's father. Your journey and hard work have been inspiring. Looking forward to seeing you in the IPL.”
Here is the photo:
{{/usCountry}}Here is the photo:
{{/usCountry}}Minz, who is 21-years-old, became the first tribal cricketer to be signed by an IPL franchise. For his signature, MI and GT entered into a bidding war, which started from his base price of RS 20 lakh. Eventually, GT came out on top, purchasing him for ₹3.6 crore, 18 times his base price.
He caught everyone's attention last year, when he hammed an unbeaten 73 off 35 balls during an invitational T20 tournament in Odisha. He has played for Jharkhand U19 and U25 teams. In the past, he was on trial with the likes of Lucknow Supergiants, Delhi Capitals, MI and Kolkata Knight Riders, but remained unsold during the 2023 auction.
Known as 'Ranchi ka Gayle', Minz's had to face plenty of hardships to reach to this point, especially due to his family's financial situation.
IPL 2024 is scheduled to begin on March 22, with defending champions Chennai Super Kings taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore in the season opener. Meanwhile, GT will open their campaign on March 24, and will face MI in their opener.