'Emerged from shadows of banyan tree': Shubman Gill identified as Rohit Sharma's heir to shoulder India's leadership

Former India batters Sanjay Bangar and Navjot Singh Sidhu believe Shubman Gill will carry the responsibility of the batting order in the next few years. The 25-year-old batter from Punjab, recently appointed as the ODI vice-captain, has been in remarkable form in the 50-over format, becoming the World No.1 in ODIs. Shubman Gill is currently the World No.1 ODI batter. (AP)

Gill has registered scores of 101 not out and 46 against Bangladesh and Pakistan in the ICC Men's Champions Trophy. The right-hander has looked sublime in both the outings. In the match against Pakistan, it took a special delivery by Abrar Ahmed for Gill to lose his wicket.

Even before the Champions Trophy, Gill was in mighty good form against England in the three-match ODI series, scoring 259 runs.

Former India batter Sanjay Bangar believes that Gill's foundation is really strong, and it gives the batter much-needed confidence whenever he goes out to bat.

“Clearly, he’s the guy who is going to shoulder the responsibility of the Indian team going forward in years to come. 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," Bangar said on JioHotstar.

"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.

'Emerged from shadows of a banyan tree'

Last week, Gill dethroned Pakistan's Babar Azam at the top of the ICC ODI rankings. Gill has 796 rating points in the latest rankings, while Babar has 773.

Former India batter Navjot Singh Sindhu reckons that Gill has emerged from the shadows of a banyan tree, and his blitzkrieg against Pakistan put the latter on the back foot in Dubai.

“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,” Navjot Singh Sidhu said on JioHotstar.

“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,” he added.

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