It was October 27, 2018, a date I remember as the Deodhar Trophy final was being played between India B and India C at the Feroz Shah Kotla (now Arun Jaitley Stadium). For the uninitiated, the Deodhar Trophy has been India’s zonal one-day tournament for years, but of late, has lost both relevance and context. But that year, it was being played in the Challenger Trophy format. Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer were two of the biggest attractions during that final and scored big hundreds. Frankly, we remember little about the match, but an incident that happened afterwards has stayed with me.
After the prize distribution ceremony, the players were all chatting near the old pavilion of the Kotla when an overenthusiastic fan jumped the fence. And with a body feint that would have put any top European league player to shame, he evaded a couple of security men while sprinting towards the melee. But as luck would have it, one of the security men overpowered him and was about to slap him when a teenager asked the guard to let him free. The man rushed towards the boy and, before anyone could gauge what was happening, touched his feet.
Normally, I have seen players get red-faced and very embarrassed when someone touches their feet, and they stop them midway. But this 19-year-old called Shubman Gill allowed the fan to touch his feet, enjoyed the adulation, and gave him a friendly pat on the back like the superstars do, while reminding the security not to treat him harshly. He was different. Mind you, the man in question hadn’t even made his India debut, but when the fan who was desperate to get near him and touch his feet did so, he was not even a trifle embarrassed. We all knew Gill had the game, but his presence of mind showed that he had the temperament. The killer chocolate-boy looks were just the icing on the cake.
Gill’s story is that of perseverance, hard work, unbelievable talent and also the sacrifices of a family that moved out of its comfort zone to build a career for their beloved child. So, what makes Gill special in the 50-over format? First, the hallmark of a graceful player is an upright stance. The second is that extra split-second to play fast bowling with a stable base and solid back-foot play. The third are his supremely powerful, yet wonderfully supple, wrists that help him to play square of the wicket on both sides. Last, but not least, is the way he relishes playing the horizontal-bat shots—he can use the suppleness of his wrists to keep the ball down when he feels like, and has the power to send it into the stands as he can spot a short-of-length delivery a touch earlier than many others.
In 50-over cricket, he is now unrivalled. In red-hot form, the only question is whether he can go on and repeat this success in the knockout stages? Can he yet again make the stage his own like he did on Thursday night? It could well decide India’s Champions Trophy journey.
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