India have been blessed to have produced several iconic batters who have shouldered the responsibility of scoring runs consistently for the Men in Blue
over the years. Sunil Gavaskar was the first batting superstar for India and since then, the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli carried the burden of expectations like true legends.
Shubman Gill, who is hailed as India's next batting great, revealed in a recent podcast that he grew up idolising Tendulkar. India's T20I vice-captain said that the Master Blaster was his father's favourite cricketer and the reason why he took up cricket. However, after understanding the mental and tactical aspects of the game, Gill started looking up to Kohli, getting inspired by the passion he had for the game and hunger for scoring runs.
“I have had two idols. The first one was Sachin Tendulkar. He was my dad’s favorite, and I actually got into cricket because of him. He retired in 2013, and around 2011–2013 was when I really started to understand cricket properly — not just the skills, but also the mental and tactical side of the game," Shubman said in a podcast on Apple Music.
“That was also the time I began following Virat Kohli closely. I loved watching the way he went about his business, the sheer passion he had for the game, and the hunger he carried. You can learn all the skills and all the technique, but hunger is something you either have or you don’t. Virat had it in abundance, and that really inspired me," he added.
Shubman will have a crucial role to play for India in the ongoing Asia Cup. In India's first game against the UAE, the right-handed batter scored an unbeaten 20 off nine balls as the defending champions chased down a 58-run target in just 4.3 overs. This was Shubman's first T20I appearance since July 2024. India's next encounter is against arch-rivals Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, September 14.
