From boy wonder to leader: Shubman Gill returns to the land of his firsts

AUCKLAND: New Zealand holds a special place for Shubman Gill. In 2018, he was part of the U-19 team that triumphed here. A year later, he made his ODI debut on these shores as well. Now, seven years after those two memorable ‘firsts’ in his cricketing journey, the 27-year-old is ready to lead the side. From a busy night at Mount Maunganui with the U-19 team to taking Dhoni’s MS ODI cap in Hamilton, New Zealand will always hold a special place. The memory of these two events still brings a smile to the Indian captain’s face.“We won the Under-19 World Cup here. I have very good memories. I made my international debut here in New Zealand. Whenever I come here I feel very good,” Gill said in a pre-series press conference.But the stakes are much higher now. He is no longer the prolific young batsman from Punjab trying to make it in international cricket. He is now the man at the helm as India sharpens preparations for the ODI World Cup in 2027. In 11 months, the team will compete for the top prize in the 50-over format. The pre-tournament games – starting with the New Zealand series – offer the captain an opportunity to find the answers India need.“I think the more we play at different places, the more experience we will get and that will help us in the World Cup. We saw from the T20 series that there was a good bounce here with the new ball which challenged both the bowling and batting teams. So both teams will face good challenges and it will be a good challenge for us as well. It is a young bowling attack and we will succeed,” G said.While India’s inexperienced bowling attack faces a considerable test, the batting line-up looks formidable and composed. Not much has changed in the team’s batting line-up since the 2023 World Cup, and stability is expected to remain a key feature over the next 11 months.“For us, No. 5 and No. 6 are a bit flexible. Our top four are pretty much set and we are all right-handed batsmen there. If we feel we need a left-hander at No. 5, we can use Axar bhai. Or, if we feel the platform has been set for KL bhai to go out and play, we will decide based on the number of positions left above that. 5 and No. 6 positions.Injury-prone Hardik Pandya remains a crucial missing piece. Even in his absence, however, the consistency of the established back four – Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer – leaves the captain with only the No.5 and No.6 positions to figure out. However, the decision is less about personnel and more about the demands of a particular match situation.“We’re definitely very happy with our top-order and middle-order. If Hardik bhai comes in, then our No.7 and No.8 positions are lined up as well and we look like a much more balanced team in terms of our batting,” explained Gill.Gill echoed head coach Gautam Gambhir’s sentiments about the challenges posed by an inexperienced bowling attack, especially in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Pandya and Prasidh Krishna. However, he sees the situation as an opportunity for younger players to boost their confidence. Gurnoor Brar, Auqib Nabi, Anshul Kamboj and Arshdeep Singh along with Nitish Kumar Reddy (for the first ODI only) are India’s options. Gill believes the team has the ability to “beat any team in any conditions”.“I feel that any Indian team that steps into the ground is capable of beating any team. The young players will gain a lot of confidence if they perform here. We will also gain confidence that if for any reason we don’t have the team we want in the World Cup, our team can still beat any team in any condition. In that context, if we win the series, it will be a big boost for us,” Gill said.Even as Gill plans for the series and next year’s FIFA World Cup, he has made sure the bigger picture doesn’t distract him from his batting or preparation for each game. The Indian captain arrived in Auckland well in advance of the series, accompanied by Brar, to begin preparations for the long tour. The focus is now shifting to converting those clocks in the networks to performance in the middle.The flamboyant youngster of 2018 with striking streaks of color in his hair now carries the expectations of more than a billion people on his shoulders. The boy wonder turned leader is focused on adding another memorable chapter to his New Zealand story.“Hopefully when we come back in a month we’ll take a lot more good memories with us.

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