Cricket News

‘He came and saw I was sad’ – Shubman Gill shares a heartfelt gesture by Indian Legend on his international debut

Gill made his debut against New Zealand in 2019.

Nov 21, 2022 12:42 pm

Indian opener Shubhman Gill recently shared an anecdote where he was touched by a gesture by former Indian captain MS Dhoni. Gill recalled his India debut back in the year 2019. It was the fourth ODI of ‘New Zealand vs India’ five-match series in Hamilton where India were batting first. Gill, walked in to bat at the number three position after India lost their opener Shikhar Dhawan and scored only 9 getting caught and bowled by Trent Boult.

While Gill had a forgettable debut, the Indian team also put up a poor show with the bat as they were bundled out for just 92 runs in 30.5 overs. Trent Boult picked up 5/21 in his 10 overs. In reply, New Zealand chased down the total in 14.4 overs with 8 wickets in hand to win the game comprehensively.

Gill, who was 19 years old at that time, was sad over his performance in his debut and India’s loss to the Kiwis. That’s when MS Dhoni cheered him up.

“The day I made by debut, the team was all out for 90 (92) and I was dismissed for 15 (9). I was sitting outside being sad about scoring only 9 runs on my debut and India losing the match. So, Mahi bhai came and saw that I was very sad. I was around 18 to 19 years old back then. He told me ‘your debut was at least better than mine.’ Then he started laughing and joking and I was touched by that gesture,” said Gill on ‘Dil Diyan Gallan’ show hosted by Sonam Bajwa.

Gill will be seen in New Zealand series

Gill has played 12 ODIs so far scoring 579 runs at an average of 57.9 and a strike rate of 102.66. He recently scored his first ODI hundred against Zimbabwe in August. He’s also played 11 Tests, scoring 579 runs at an average of 30.47 having four half-centuries to his name. His highest Test score of 91 came against Australia in India’s famous Gabba Test victory.

Gill is currently in New Zealand as a part of India’s ODI and T20I squads. He’s also picked in the squad announced for the two-match Test series against Bangladesh.