'Aise patakhe bajaye the' - Sanjay Bangar gives throwback on Shubman Gill's first net session for India

Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar recently spoke about star batter Shubman Gill’s first net session with the senior national team. Bangar spoke about how Gill’s performance against throw-down specialists left the then-head coach Ravi Shastri impressed.

The Punjab-born first caught the attention with his stellar performances in the 2018 U19 World Cup, where he was named the ‘Player of the Tournament’ after scoring 372 runs in six matches. His brilliance at the junior level soon earned him a place in India’s senior squad, and he made his international debut in early 2019. Bangar, who was part of the Indian coaching staff during the 2010s, recalled Gill’s very first training session with the team.

"The first glimpse of Shubman Gill we had during his first net session for India, there is a tradition in India that during the nets session, if you want that approval, you will have to do well against throwdown specialists, who bowl really fast. And unhone uss nets session mein, jo ek screen test hota hai na, aise patakhe bajaye the (during that session, which is a screen test of sorts, he played some cracking shots). Ravi Shastri was like, ek tayaar player mill gya humein (we have got a ready-made player). Such was his first impact," Bangar said on the video posted by Star Sports.

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The right-hander has become a key player in India’s batting line up across formats. In 101 international matches, he has scored 4,886 runs at an average of 42.85, with 12 centuries and 24 fifties. Notably, he holds the record for being the fastest player to reach 2,000 ODI runs, achieving the milestone in just 38 innings. Additionally, he is among the list of few Indian players to have scored centuries in all three formats of the game.

The India vice-captain will next be seen in the upcoming second ODI against England, which will be played on Sunday, February 09 at the Barabati Stadium, Cuttack. Gill will enter the contest after a Player of the Match performance in the Nagpur encounter, where he hit 87 runs to help India chase the target with utmost ease.