Indian cricket has a new shining star – Shubman Gill. The young opening batsman has taken the cricketing world by storm with his incredible performances over the past few years. And now, he has been bestowed with one of the highest honors in Indian cricket.
At the glitzy BCCI Awards 2024 held in Hyderabad, the 24-year-old Gill was named the prestigious Polly Umrigar Award winner for the 2022-23 season, recognizing him as the best international cricketer of the year. Let’s take a closer look at the meteoric rise of this batting prodigy.
Early Life and Domestic Career
Born on September 8, 1999 in Fazilka, Punjab, Shubman Gill took to cricket at a very young age. His father Lakhwinder Singh, who wanted to be a cricketer himself but never got the opportunity, saw the spark in young Shubman and decided to nurture his talent.
He set up a cricket ground for Shubman to practice on their farm and encouraged him to play against local boys. Shubman also received coaching at his school, Manav Mangal Smart School in Mohali, Punjab. To facilitate Shubman’s cricket training, the family later relocated to Mohali so he could attend the Punjab Cricket Association’s academy.
Gill made his List A debut for Punjab in the 2016–17 Vijay Hazare Trophy as a 17-year-old. In his second match, he scored his maiden List A century with 121 runs off 129 balls against Assam.
His first-class debut came in the 2017–18 Ranji Trophy where he scored 129 runs against Services in only his second match. Gill finished the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy as Punjab’s leading run-scorer with 728 runs in five matches at an average of 104.
U-19 World Cup Heroics
Shubman Gill truly announced himself on the world stage at the 2018 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand. As the vice-captain of the Indian team, Gill was instrumental in India’s record fourth title win.
He scored a mammoth 372 runs in the tournament at an astonishing average of 124, including match-winning knocks of 102* against Pakistan in the semi-final and 31 in the final against Australia. Gill was deservedly named the Player of the Tournament for his batting heroics.
His performances drew high praise from batting legends like Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly, who saw shades of a young Virat Kohli in him. Gill’s U-19 World Cup exploits fast-tracked him into the national reckoning.
International Debut and Rise
Gill made his ODI debut in early 2019 on the tour to New Zealand. Later that year, he led India C to victory in the Deodhar Trophy, becoming the youngest captain to do so at 20 years and 57 days, breaking Virat Kohli’s record.
His Test debut came in the famous 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. Gill played a key role in India’s historic series win, scoring 259 runs including two fluent fifties.
Since then, Gill has gone from strength to strength in international cricket. Some of his most notable achievements include:
- Youngest to score an ODI double century (208 vs New Zealand in 2023)
- Highest individual T20I score by an Indian (126* vs New Zealand in 2023)
- Fastest Indian to reach 1000 ODI runs (19 innings)
- First Indian to score centuries in all three formats
In 2022, Gill was also part of the IPL winning Gujarat Titans team in their debut season. He has been a consistent performer in the IPL over the years:
| Season | Team | Runs | Average | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | KKR | 203 | 33.83 | 146.04 |
| 2019 | KKR | 296 | 32.88 | 124.36 |
| 2020 | KKR | 440 | 33.84 | 117.96 |
| 2021 | KKR | 478 | 34.14 | 118.90 |
| 2022 | GT | 483 | 34.50 | 132.32 |
| 2023 | GT | 890 | 59.33 | 157.80 |
His 890-run tally in the 2023 season, where he also captained Gujarat Titans, is the second highest ever in an IPL season behind Virat Kohli’s 973 in 2016. Gill won the Orange Cap and was named the ‘Most Valuable Player’ of IPL 2023.
BCCI Awards 2024 and Recent Successes
Shubman Gill’s crowning moment came at the BCCI Awards 2024 where he was named the Best International Cricketer of the Year for his stellar performances in the 2022-23 season across formats.
In the 2023 ODI World Cup held in India, Gill scored 354 runs in 9 matches at an average of 44.25, playing a key role in India’s campaign. In November 2023, he climbed to the No. 1 spot in the ICC ODI Batting Rankings, ending Babar Azam’s long reign at the top.
Some of Gill’s other notable feats in recent times:
- Becoming the first Indian player to win the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award more than once when he won it in October 2023
- Being selected as the Hindi and Punjabi voice of the Indian Spider-Man character Pavitr Prabhakar in the movie Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
- Signing up with English county team Glamorgan as an overseas player in 2022
Brand Value and Endorsements
Gill’s on-field success has made him a very marketable athlete and a youth icon. His current brand endorsement portfolio includes names like:
- Puma
- JBL
- Gillette
- CEAT Tyres
- Cinthol
- Games24x7
- Danone
According to estimates, Gill charges around INR 1-1.5 crore per brand endorsement. His net worth is estimated to be around INR 31 crore, which includes his BCCI central contract (Grade A), match fees, IPL salary, and endorsement earnings.
Some of the luxury cars in Gill’s garage include a Range Rover (INR 70 Lakhs), BMW 5 Series (INR 78 Lakhs), and a Mahindra Thar (INR 15 Lakhs). He is also known to be a sneakerhead with a big collection.
Future Prospects
At just 24, Shubman Gill has the cricketing world at his feet. With his sound technique, poise, and hunger for big scores, he is already being seen as the next big thing in Indian cricket and a future captain.
Gill has shown that he has the game to excel across formats. He is currently a vital cog in India’s top-order in all three forms of the game. With age on his side, Gill could be the backbone of the Indian batting lineup for the next decade and beyond.
Many experts have already drawn comparisons between Gill and Virat Kohli. If he can emulate even half of what Kohli has achieved, Gill will end up as one of the greats of Indian and world cricket.
The BCCI Cricketer of the Year award is a testament to the impact Shubman Gill has already made in his short career so far. As Indian cricket undergoes a transition phase, Gill along with other youngsters will be expected to carry the team forward. And he certainly has the talent and temperament to shoulder that responsibility.
One can expect Gill to rack up many more records and milestones in the years to come. He has already shown that the big stage doesn’t faze him. With experience and more consistency, he could establish himself as one of the best all-format batsmen in the world.
Indian cricket has unearthed a real gem in Shubman Gill – a once-in-a-generation talent who could be the torch-bearer of the country’s batting for a long time. The BCCI Award is only the beginning of what promises to be an illustrious career for this batting sensation from Punjab.
As Gill often says, sky is the limit for him. And going by what he has achieved so far, one can’t help but agree. Here’s to many more years of Shubman Gill ruling the cricket field and breaking records for fun!
