'I was like wow' - Nick Knight recalls Shubman Gill's heroics in Australia Tests

India have a pool of talent to choose from at the moment with the amount of U19 cricket depth and Former England batter Nick Knight hailed upcoming Indian star batter, Shubman Gill for his special knocks in Australia. Gill made his Test debut for India in Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the right-hander had immensely impressed with his shot-making especially. He went on to make 35 and an unbeaten 45 in one of the historic Test wins for India, but he did not stop there.

In a 300 plus run chase on the final day of the Gabba Test with the series on-line, Gill top-scored with one of the most fluent knocks scoring 91 and it immediately gave the momentum for the likes of Rishabh Pant to win the game for India. He is expected to have a bright future ahead in the longest format and Knight explained how he spotted the 22-year-old in the U19 World Cup three years ago.

I saw a really special player: Nick Knight

Knight mentioned that Gill has got all the shots in the book and noted his ability to play the short ball really well. He recalled the first time he saw Gill in the U19 World Cup and found him ‘special’ just because of his shot-making alone. He added that he has been following the Punjab-born lad’s career closely and was astonished by the innings he played at Gabba.

“Here is a guy making his way into Test match cricket for the first time. He has got all the shots, plays the short ball nicely. He is going to be a wonderful player. I try not to be biased. I spotted him playing the Under-19 World Cup and I saw a really special player,” Knight said in the documentary ‘Down Underdogs’ premiering on the Sony Sports Network

“Sometimes when we follow the game, it is stupid if you’re seeing just one shot, stupid if you’re seeing just one score, a four, a cut, or four. And you say, ‘cool, there is a special player. Sometimes you can’t explain it. But you see something special in someone. I saw him as an Under-19 cricketer and then followed his career because I love going to India and working with domestic cricket and the IPL saw him developing as a player. I saw him play in that Test series. I was like WOW,” he added

Although Gill is yet to make a Test century for India, he still has got all the potential in the world and he had to miss out on the South Africa tour after picking up an injury. He has been recently retained by the Ahmedabad franchise for 7 Crores ahead of IPL 2022 mega auction.