Smashing three centuries in a single season, cricketer Shubman Gill has emerged as one of the most famous batsmen in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.
The Gujarat Titans (GT) opening batter is the second Indian batsman to score over 800 runs in a single IPL season.
With his outstanding performance, he has won the hearts of cricket fans and is now considered the game’s next superstar after Virat Kohli.
Born in Punjab, the 23-year-old has been passionate about cricket since age three. He would practice cricket on a farm instead of playing with toys.
“He used to sleep with a bat and ball,” recalls his father Lakhwinder Singh, who also aspired to become a cricketer and is living his unfulfilled dreams through his son.
Shubman’s father left farming in his village and moved to Mohali to train him to become a professional cricketer. Soon, Shubman joined Punjab Cricket Association’s Academy.
He made his Twenty20 debut for Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2018 Indian Premier League. Ahead of the 2022 IPL auction, he joined the newly formed Gujarat Titans.
Lauding his performance in IPL, Sachin Tendulkar tweeted, “What truly impressed me about Shubman’s batting was his remarkable temperament, unwavering calmness, hunger for runs and astute running between the wickets.”
Already considered the next Virat Kohli in the Indian team, cricketer Yuvraj Singh called him the “New Prince of Indian Cricket”.
Shubman is roughly 12 runs behind Jos Buttler’s 863 runs and 122 runs behind Virat Kohli’s record of 973 runs scored in IPL.
This year, he became the fastest Indian to record 1,000 ODI runs during the one-dayers against New Zealand.