Young batting sensation Shubman Gill names his idol

India’s latest batting sensation, Shubman Gill will undoubtedly turn eyes when he takes on the pitch in the upcoming IPL season. The 18-year-old was one of the key cogs of the junior Indian team that recently lifted the U-19 World Cup. Gill, who was the most prolific and successful Indian batsman this tournament played a pivotal role in notching up three fifties and a hundred to end as the ‘Player of the Tournament.’ And following his success on the international stage, Gill bagged a lucrative deal with the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise for IPL 2018.

Like many youngsters, Shubman Gill would obsessively watch Sachin Tendulkar bat, and harbored dreams of playing with the legend some day. Those dreams were shattered once the Master Blaster decided to hang up his boots in 2013. Shubman needed someone else to look up to for inspiration. In an interview with Sportstar at the KKR camp in Kolkata, the youngster said, “After Sachin paaji quit the game, I found inspiration in Virat Kohli. He is my idol now.”

The prospect of a maiden stint in the cash-rich league has got the young gun excited. Shubman is focussed on booking a berth in the Knights’ playing XI when it takes on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their season opener. The right-hander also previously revealed that he aspires to play under the India skipper in the near future.

New challenge on the horizon for Gill

While the journey to stardom has just started for the 18-year-old, the next IPL season with Kolkata Knight Riders is another chapter he is keenly looking forward to. While admitting IPL is a different ball game, Shubman is happy to have reunited with his U-19 team-mates Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi.

With a base price of 20 lakhs, India’s latest batting sensation was picked almost 10 times his base prices for a whopping 1.8 crores by the KKR franchise.