"When There's Been A Challenge...": Ex-India Star's No-Nonsense Verdict On Shubman Gill

NDTV

18 hours ago

Former Indian wicket-keeper batter Parthiv Patel hailed Indian Test skipper Shubman Gill for answering all the critics with a record-breaking performance during the England tour, which ended in a well-fought 2-2 draw. During the five-match series, Gill scored a massive 754 runs at an average of 75.40, with four centuries and a career best score of 269. He outbatted the other players by miles, with his best outing being at Birmingham, when he scored 269 and 161 across both innings. Gill had headed into the series with sub-par numbers outside Asia, having not breached the 40-run mark since his iconic 91-run knock against Australia at Brisbane in 2021, despite getting some solid starts.
Speaking on 'Follow The Blues', the JioStar expert Parthiv said, "Four centuries, an average of 75.40, and more than 750 runs -- all scored across different conditions. Earlier, when he walked out to bat, there were questions: Will he be able to perform in the SENA countries? Can he deliver consistently? But look at the answers he has given. 147 runs in the first innings at Headingley. In the second innings, people said he threw his wicket away after that big score."
"Then came 269 runs in the first innings at Edgbaston. Again, the talk was that it might prove to be less, but he followed it up with 161 in the second innings. In the third Test, he got out early in both innings, and questions about his form began again, even though he had already scored 430 runs in the previous match. And then came that hundred in Manchester, in a match India needed to draw. Whenever there's been a challenge, whenever questions have been asked, Gill has answered them perfectly with his bat," he added.
This is the second-best amount of runs by an Indian in a Test series (at the top being Gavaskar with 774 runs against West Indies in 1971). Also, after Don Bradman's 810 runs against England in 1936/37, this was the second-highest runs by a captain in a Test series.
He also overtook his contemporary Yashasvi Jaiswal's 712 run tally from last year to have the most runs by an Indian against England in a series.
Gill also outclassed his idol Virat Kohli, securing the most successful South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia (SENA) tour by an Indian batter. Previously, Virat held this record, having smashed 692 runs in four Tests with four centuries against Australia way back in 2014, when the Delhi-born batter had a first brush up with captaincy.
The Indian skipper also crossed the 6,000 run mark in international cricket at the end of the series. By the end of the series, his international statistics stand at 6,000 runs in 118 matches at an average of 46.15, with 18 centuries and 25 fifties. In Tests, he has 2,615 runs at an average of 41.35 in 37 Tests and 69 innings, with nine centuries and seven fifties.