Former India player Sanjay Bangar has heaped praise on India’s ODI Vice-captain Shubman Gill and said that he will be leading the India team’s batting in the upcoming years.
He believes that Gill has shown enough signs to ‘shoulder the responsibility’ of the Indian men’s team in years to come. Bangar’s comments came after Gill’s impressive knock against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy 2025 in Dubai on Sunday.
Despite missing his half-century, he was Men in Blues’ third-highest scorer showing his immense maturity in hitting a flurry of boundaries against Pakistan’s ace, Shaheen Shah Afridi, immediately after dismissing Rohit Sharma.
He also provided early assistance to Virat Kohli facing a swinging ball in the powerplay which helped the latter to gain momentum and slam his 51st ODI century.
“Clearly, he’s the guy who is going to shoulder the responsibility of the Indian team going forward in years to come,” said Sanjay Bangar.
“(His) foundations are really, really strong and add to that the confidence of nearly two-and-a-half years of performing in one-day cricket. In one-day cricket, he’s been phenomenal.”
“Now look, the straight drive, the on-drive are the shots wherein you cannot actually hit the ball really hard.”
“But here, he was hitting the ball so hard that despite the mid-off and the mid-on fielder being on that 30-yard circle, the ball was going and hitting them. That’s the kind of timing he possesses,” he added.
Former Indian opener Navjot Singh Siddhu was also praised the 25 year old, saying that he had done well to grow despite being in the shadow of greats like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
“Look, see, nothing grows under a banyan tree and the banyan tree of Indian cricket is basically Rohit Sharma and with him, Virat Kohli.”
“But when you look at Shubman Gill, those two straight drives, even the blistering cover drive, this is like a blitzkrieg where the opposition is taken aback, you know, it’s awe-inspiring,” Sidhu said.
“This man has emerged from the shadows of that banyan tree and has come of age. It’s tough to say that. You rate ability in men by what they finish, not by what they attempt.”
“When you actually take your side through after scoring a hundred and don’t throw your wicket, that responsibility is making you better. It is developing you; it’s not ruining you.”
“So, every responsibility that he’s shouldered has made him better. And to me, the best thing is, he’s technically so sound that he makes it look so easy,” Sidhu added.
India’s third match of the Champions Trophy 2025 campaign will be played against New Zealand on March 02 at Dubai International Stadium.
