Shubman Gill: Young 'Prince' leading India's post-Rohit, Kohli era
Shubman Gill, long Indian cricket's "Prince" in waiting, has been entrusted with leading a new era after the Test retirements of greats Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
The 25-year-old Gill was identified in 2020 as a batting successor to Kohli after impressing on his Test debut in Melbourne, where he opened and made 45 and an unbeaten 35 as India beat Australia by eight wickets.
Gifted with a wide variety of shots at the top of the order, it has been Gill's inspiring leadership of Gujarat Titans that clinched his elevation to the Test captaincy to succeed Rohit.
Gill played a captain's knock of 93 this week to secure a place in the playoffs for Gujarat, who were IPL champions in their 2022 debut season.
"I have talked about this a couple of times, when I'm batting, I want to play and think as a batsman, not as a captain. At the back end last season I learnt that," said Gill, who is in his second season leading Gujarat.
Gill, who has scored 636 runs at an average of 57.81 to lie second on the IPL batting charts, has led from the front and been dubbed "Prince" by pundits in the cricket-obsessed country.
"Let Shubman Gill remain Shubman Gill instead of calling him a 'Prince'," said former India wicketkeeper and Gujarat assistant coach Parthiv Patel.
"You gave him this name from the commentary box. He is leading from the front and makes his presence felt in the dressing room.
"He doesn't talk much, but his words carry a lot of weight."
Rohit and batting great Kohli's departures paved the way for Gill to lead a young India squad for five Tests in England beginning on June 20.
Other candidates included Jasprit Bumrah, who was Rohit's deputy in Australia this year, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul.
- Competitive instinct -
Gill got the nod but he has big boots to fill.
Rohit won 12 of his 24 Tests as skipper and his predecessor Kohli was India's most successful Test captain with 40 wins from 68 matches in charge.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar had already identified Gill's leadership credentials and competitive instinct ahead of his appointment, and he urged fans to give him time.
"It would take a couple of years to get to the level of our 'super captains'," said Gavaskar.
"All of them brought something unique to the table.
"When you look at Gill, Iyer, and Pant... you can see a mix of different qualities.
"Gill seems the most competitive. When there's a close call, he's quick to question the umpire. He's very involved in the game."
In 2023, Gill scored a Twenty20 hundred to become the fifth Indian batsman -- including Kohli and Rohit -- to record centuries across all three formats.
Gill, who hails from a family of farmers in the northern state of Punjab, said he owed much of his success to his father.
"I think the way I practise and the way my dad made me practise... 90 percent of the credit should go to him because it was his vision," said Gill.
Gill has played 32 Tests, scoring 1,893 runs at an average of 35.05 with five hundreds. But there are question marks over his record outside India. In his 13 overseas Tests, Gill's average is only 29.50.
fk/pjm/dh/pbt
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
12 hours ago
- Forbes
Association Of Pickleball Professional Fires Next Salvo In Battle For International Expansion In The Sport
United States-base pickleball associations continue their quest to expand their influence abroad, in an ongoing battle amongst titans in the sport to tap into burgeoning markets for pickleball underneath the (more than reasonable) assumption that the sport will experience similar growth abroad that is has here domestically. The latest salvo in that battlefront has been launched. On June 11th, 2025 The Association of Pickleball Players (APP) announced a pair of agreements (one new, one the extension of an existing collaboration) that will help elevate the talent level in events abroad while also bringing the APP's marketing and logistics expertise into play for growing markets in the sport. The APP is announcing a new agreement with Global Sports Pickleball (GSP), the leading pickleball organization in India and extending their long-standing relationship with Pickleball England, the national governing body (NGB) of the sport in England and operators of the English Open. I caught up with the principals of each group to discuss their organizations and these new collaborations; Ken Herrmann (Founder of the APP), Shashank Khaitan (co-founder of Global Sports), and Karen Mitchell (Chairperson of Pickleball England) to talk about these deals and the future of international pickleball. The APP is entering its 4th year collaborating with Pickleball England on the English Open, and have for years been sending both its top touring Pros and its top NextGen stars across the pond to compete. Per Mitchell, the sending of the top US pros 'helps elevate the level of play in our events. People want to play where the pros play. This gives people added excitement of playing against that caliber of player. The APP also helps us with sponsorships, streaming of our event to APP-TV, and promotional help on social media.' The collaboration has helped make the English Open not only the largest current tournament in Europe, but the largest outside of the US (they're projecting to nearly 2,200 players at this year's event). The English Open is essentially the leading fund-raising event for Pickleball England (the UK equivalent of USA Pickleball), and allows the NGB to fund the operations of the rest of its goals. Says, Mitchell, "Our focus is grassroots. We've developed curriculum to create and train coaches, which we feel will develop more players. We're going into schools and universities. We're trying to reduce the average age of players. We want to be the Carlsberg of events. [side note: I did not at first understand the context of this comment about Carlsberg. Only after some pointed googling did I learn about Carlsberg Beer's advertising campaign where they claim to 'Probably be the Best beer in the world.' I may have to incorporate this English idiom into my day to day speech]. Pickleball England was more than happy to extend its relationship with the APP. Says Mitchell, 'I believe that the APP does such great work, both in the US and helping to expand pickleball's reach internationally. They do right by the players and they genuinely are interested in growing the game internationally.' The timing of announcing the two collaborations together is not without some history; as it turns out, Herrmann of the APP first met Shashank Khaitan of GSP at the English Open two years prior. GSP got its start three years ago, held its first major tournament in February of 2023, and now plays host to three marquee events each year: the Monsoon Championships (held in August), the Indian Open (held in February), and the Global Sports Pro league, which debuted in February this year and featured 100 pro players from all over the globe participating for a total prize purse of $550k. (Note: if you're reading this and you're wondering which of the multiple India-based organizations GSP is, I suggest reading The Dink's Eric Tice's excellent comprehensive January 2025 overview of all things Pickleball in that region of the world. It provides an overview of GSP and its evolution of partnerships with other orgs in the region, some of which are now defunct). Khaitan describes the beginnings of the APP collaboration, which has been two years in the making, 'We first met at the English Open. We saw APP Next Gen players competing and were really impressed. We started a relationship with some of the APP pros there and became very close with Rob Nunnery in particular. This led to Nunnery and his partner Andrei Daescu traveling to play in the 2024 Indian Open." Nunnery and Daescu won the doubles title in that event, and in the final they played Armaan Bhatia & Harsh Mehta, who stretched them to three games before falling. This of course is the same Bhatia who has now come to the US and medaled in both the US Open and the APP's NYC Open in May 2025. This turned out to be a seminal match in Indian pickleball, as (in Khaitan's words), 'it showed Indian players where they needed to go, and when Bhatia & Mehta played the American pros in the final, they realized they really could compete against the best.' The most immediate and apparent impact of the APP-GSP collaboration will be the cross-pollination of US-based APP pros in GSP-run events going forward, and vice versa. The top 12 APP Male and Female pros will be offered seeded slots at the forthcoming 2025 Monsoon Open, and will be entered into the league auction for the 2026 iteration of the GSP League. Conversely, GSP will work with the APP to provide more opportunities for both established Asian pros and up-and-coming Indian & Asian players at the APP's Fort Lauderdale training facilities and academies. Both organizations clearly have respect for one another, and they both share some of the same values when it comes to growing the game. Says Herrmann, 'GSP has proven themselves as the premier leading organization in India, and as the APP continues to grow internationally it's always been my goal to keep my inner circle credible and full of quality people.' Khaitan agrees, 'We believe our ideology with APP is similar; we don't want to lock players down and want to give players growth experience opportunities.' Herrmann mentioned that the APP is now working on the development of international camps, both at the Fort in December and potentially at Mumbai-based events in 2026. Perhaps the most interesting takeaway from my conversations with Khaitan and Herrmann were the statements of their collective visions of international pickleball. One of Herrmann's longer term goals with partnerships like these is the pursuit of a global ranking system. He says, 'I want and foresee results in India to count towards APP rankings. If the No. 1 player from India comes here and there's a question where to seed him or her, there's a proven record of results for that player in international events, whether they're in India or in England or wherever.' Khaitan is more expansive. 'We want to set a common goal, see how to build towards it. We want to build something global. Tennis and the ATP really shifted when they globalized and held events all around the world, and we feel the same thing will happen with pickleball.' One thing is for certain; every year that US-based pros extend their presence in major international tournaments and leagues is a year where we get close to these goals. We've already seen a top player from India come to the US and succeed at the pro level, and it's just a matter of time before that becomes a regular occurrence.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
Cricket's world showdown finally lives up to its billing on thrilling first day
Over the week of lead-up to its third staging, the World Test Championship final has felt increasingly like something that counts. After two abandoned attempts to host it at Lord's, having been diverted first to the Hampshire Bowl and then to The Oval, it is finally being held at cricket's original headquarters. On the first day of the match, with a surge of people up St John's Wood Road, whether for a sensible start time of 10:30am or spilling over into an occasionally sunny afternoon, forming an eventual crowd of over 26,000, this at last felt like vindication of concept. Related: Incongruity of World Test Championship final fails to dampen Australian excitement | Geoff Lemon Advertisement Of course, cricket being cricket, this also means that the game's biggest interests are right now lining to sabotage it. The Indian board plans to take the next final to their cavern in Ahmedabad, where about 13 people will show up to watch, especially if it's a neutral fixture. Even India Tests when Virat Kohli was playing drew paltry crowds there. Partly their move will be motivated by a thirst for prestige, partly by India having already lost two finals in England. It is comically being framed as a 'bid', while everyone in cricket knows that that the BCCI does not do any bidding, but only has its bidding done. England, meanwhile, the only team that could credibly provoke complaints about home ground advantage, have spent the last cycle disparaging the tournament. Home advantage is only a factor if you qualify for the final, which England have conspicuously failed to do at every opportunity, so their manner has more than a touch of fox and grapes about it. The attitude has filtered through to a decent portion of England's cricket media, who criticise the format, but of course the structure is janky – international cricket's unequal relations between participants make some level of jank inevitable. Disgruntled English voices may be cheerier if the ECB's millions of pounds of annual expenditure could produce players able to count how many overs they had bowled in a session. And yet, and yet, there would have been plenty of English cricketing hearts gladdened by the second hour of the match, as South Africa's fast bowlers came to play. It had to be the premier quicks, Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen, if they were to really challenge Australia, and both did the job perfectly: keen to bowl after winning the toss, bringing aggression and accuracy, four down for 67 on the stroke of lunch. For the biggest Test in the calendar, Australia's batting configuration has a makeshift current composition, with Marnus Labuschagne opening and Cameron Green at three, and the collective failed to fire. Usman Khawaja spent the last Australian summer on the hop, repeatedly jumping and fending at pace to be caught behind the wicket. Swap Jasprit Bumrah for Rabada and the same mode occurred. Green pushed across the ball in being caught the same over. Labuschagne was kept dry before finally being drawn into a push and an edge, while Travis Head fell into an long-held habit of nicking down the leg-side. Advertisement And so the urge from an English view, or any neutral perspective really, to see Australia knocked over by a team with fewer resources, was well fed by lunch, only for that excitement to be gradually sapped as it has so many times before by Steven Smith. Three months without a bat in hand seems a good recipe for the former batting obsessive on this evidence, as he moved perfectly into line with the outswinging ball, waiting with patience to punch it through the off-side, before stepping to the slightly straighter line to turn it fine down the leg. In a country where he has eight centuries, and on a ground where he has two, a bigger innings looked a lock for Smith once he had Beau Webster locked in for support. That didn't happen in the end, Smith having what for him is a modest stay of just under two hours. But as the scoring patterns of this match emerged, his score of 66 is beginning to look as effective as a hundred elsewhere. Australia were all out 212 and still reach stumps as favourites, with South Africa 43 for 4. This was always likely to be the biggest disparity: South Africa's often fragile batting, featuring solid domestic types and white-ball bashers, against Australia's quicks. Ryan Rickelton has a fine domestic record but won't have faced an attack of this pedigree. Wiaan Mulder wants to believe, but is an all-rounder and a makeshift number three. Tristan Stubbs is a white-ball smasher yet to credibly make the transition. Aiden Markram has high class but a record that doesn't sufficiently reflect it. All were out cheaply, among sharp bounce and smashed stumps. Overnight, then, the match awaits another test. Temba Bavuma and David Bedingham need to mimic the rescue job of Smith and Webster. If they don't, and South Africa fall over, the scrutiny on their path to qualification will intensity. That shouldn't be the case, because lopsided Tests occur between all strengths of nations all the time, but it will. If instead they can take it up to Australia again, as they did in the first session, they will solidify fondness in the hearts of neutrals, for the match as much as the team. Beyond parochial views, this is what a global final should be about. The concept is right, but there is more vindication to achieve.
Entrepreneur
a day ago
- Entrepreneur
Machaxi Secures $1.5 Million to Expand AI-Powered Badminton Coaching Across India
The funding round was led by Rainmatter, the investment arm of Zerodha, and included participation from Indian badminton legend Prakash Padukone as well as existing backers You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Machaxi, a Bengaluru-based sports-tech startup focused on grassroots coaching, has raised $1.5 million in funding to scale its AI-powered training model and expand operations into three more cities—Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai. The funding round was led by Rainmatter, the investment arm of Zerodha, and included participation from Indian badminton legend Prakash Padukone as well as existing backers, the company announced in a press release. This strategic infusion of capital marks a pivotal moment for Machaxi as it builds on its vision to standardize and scale grassroots sports coaching across India. Central to this expansion is a collaboration with the Padukone School of Badminton, under which the two entities aim to establish over 1,000 coaching centers nationwide in the next four years. The partnership will feature an AI-based coaching platform developed by Machaxi, designed to support human coaches, not replace them. The system tracks performance, ensures consistency in training methods, and makes coaching scalable even in regions where experienced trainers are in short supply. "I've always believed that the future of Indian badminton lies in structured grassroots development," said Prakash Padukone. "Machaxi's vision to scale coaching while maintaining quality through AI is forward-thinking and impactful. I'm thrilled to partner with them in shaping the next generation of champions." Nithin Kamath, founder of Zerodha and Rainmatter, said the decision to invest was aligned with their broader focus on sustainability and community development. "Machaxi's tech-driven approach to coaching, combined with a solid on-ground strategy, aligns perfectly with our mission at Rainmatter to back sustainable and impactful ventures," Kamath said. Machaxi co-founder Pratish Raj emphasized that the new funding and partnerships are about more than just growth—they're about reshaping India's sports coaching model. "With the support of Rainmatter and the visionary backing of Mr. Padukone, we're working toward a future where every aspiring athlete, no matter where they come from, can train with consistency, purpose, and access to world-class infrastructure," Raj said.
